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Alrighty, i have a few questions. I went to the scrap yard and i saw some people with a couple fridges in their truck. They were permitted to dump them in the steel pile. But when i took in my little fridge, i was charged $5 for taking it there, and had to put it in a separate pile. I saw some people also pick up some dishwashers, but i thought they were mostly plastic? I also saw some youtubers totally destroying tv's and just taking in the steel base and copper out, is it worth it?
Well, first… with the fridges they probably had the refrigerants emptied by someone certified or they gutted it. The dishwashers, i have no clue. As for tvs, it is quicker to smash it, safer and cleaner no, but worth the time depending on the person, there can be a decent amount of copper, or aluminum in some.
And also, just a heads up. Don't mess with fridges and acs cause you need epa section 608 certified and all that to deal with freon. If caught theres a hefty fine of like $10,000, but correct me if i'm wrong, so at least to me its not worth, and its also bad for your health
we DON'T condone smashing tv's here!
Picker,
Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifers are worth the money if you follow all the regulations and can do the work yourself. The Clean Air Act prohibits the intentional venting of refrigerant which all of these contain. Most yards will charge you for units that are not recovered (refrigerant) yet. Other yards may require certification that the units were recovered. There are a few yards out there that will not charge you. These yards are responsible for recovering the refrigerant. You must take and pass a test in order to become certified to recover refrigerant. The class / test cost me $200. Once you have this, you will need the proper equipment. I spent about $1500 to get my recovery unit, scale, tank, hoses, manifold, pressure gauge and tapping accessories. If this has scared you away from doing it properly and you are thinking about cutting the lines and letting the refrigerant fly, don't. The fines for the intentional release exceed $37,000 and the EPA will not believe it was an accident.
Dishwashers - depends on your yard, the quantities that you are bringing in on a regular basis and your relationship with your yard. You are correct that dishwashers contain a lot of plastic. If you are a regular at your yard, bring in large quantities of mostly clean shred and have established a good relationship with the yard, they may allow you to dump dishwashers. Keep in mind that the final product is clean metals. Either your yard, or the yard that they are selling to must process this material. The amount of fluff (plastics and other non metal items) affects there bottom line which ultimately affects what your yard can pay per pound.
TVs - here we go with more regulations. If you really want to do some reading, look up "40 CFR 261". This is some pretty heavy reading. Old CRT tvs and monitors contain leaded glass and other dangerous substances. There are potential fines, although I don't know the exact amount, for the improper disposal of this material. A TV may generate up to $5 in scrap, but is it worth the environmental hazards and the risk of getting caught and fined. There are companies out there that will properly recycle these. Some may give you a few cents a pound and others will charge you.
Scrapping can be an extremely rewarding job or hobby. Before you expand into electronic waste and appliances containing refrigerant, I would suggest doing some more research. It may save you a considerable amount of money in the future.
CRTs have been declassified by the EPA as hazardous material. Unfortunately, some states (including Maine) has decided to keep them as hazardous waste, so check your state EPA laws.
Fact Sheet: Easier Recycling of Cathode Ray Tubes | Wastes | US EPA
Mick,
I agree that there are revised regulations making it easier to recycle these, however there are still regulations in place.
There are storage limitations that apply to unbroken CRTS for collectors and recyclers.
There are strict storage and transportation requirements for broken CRTs.
There are storage limitations on the amount of time you are allowed to keep broken CRTs before recycling them.
The exclusions from the federal hazardous waste management standards apply only to CRTs and CRT glass destined for recycling.
Picker's TV question was, is it worth it to destroy TVs and take out the copper and steel.
That being said, unless he is planning to bring the CRT to a proper recycling facility less than a year after he obtains them, stores them and transports them appropriately, then they are still regulated as hazardous waste.
In my opinion, the waste generated form the TVs shown on these YouTube videos is hazardous waste unless these people are storing and transporting it to a proper recycling facility within a year. This will most likely cost Picker far more than the few dollars he could expect to get from the TVs.
I smash the plastic off the back, not the glass. Maybe thats what he meant. Ofcourse this is all done in my garage so I clean my mess lolQuote:
Originally Posted by ScrappinRed
Does it take too long to pull 4 screws and take the back off and back on, it protects the neck of the tube that way.Quote:
Originally Posted by jord0690
Do i treat like fridge? Stainless worth seperating?
Drinking fountain?
Lots of copper in a drinking fountain. I've got some pictures of one somewhere on the forum.
If you scroll down to my picture in this link, the round thing is insulation. Inside that was copper.
http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/disma...y-not-fun.html
if your going to do tv's unscrew the back and put it aside, when you are done harvesting the good stuff out of it put the back cover back on it to protect yourself from the end of the tube and the tube from getting broken. Here sometimes it's better off to just take the tv to the yard the way it is and get .13/lb for it
for anything with refrigerant you have to have the right set up to empty them before taking apart.
Joraygordy,
The drinking water fountain would most likely be similar to a refrigerator as I would assume that most will have a compressor and heat exchanging coils which both contain refrigerant
Pick,
If you are looking for an option on the TVs, PM me. I had included it in one of my posts, but it got deleted.
The clue may be in the size of the fridge. A "little fridge" may be a 'combo 12 volt DC, gas, 110V AC' campervan sort.Quote:
Originally Posted by PickerBenny
If it is, its probably a Ammonia sort & they will have to seperate that from the other fridges & give you a different price for it. Theres no motor in them either.
Around here you can take a fridge, ac unit, freezer as is, and not sure how they are recovering freon as they get tossed in the pile? The ones I take were all leakers so no freon in them. Or compressor or copper line...
Hobo,
I've attached a link to the clean air act for your use and any one else who is interested. The last person in the disposal chain is responsible for ensuring that the refrigerant was recovered. The fines are up to $37,500 per day.
The website is Complying With The Section 608 Refrigerant Recycling Rule | Ozone Layer Protection - Regulatory Programs | US EPA
My main yard will only take these if the lines are cut. One yard will take them no matter what. Another charges if they aren't drained, and another has a statement at the bottom of your slip that you sign that says that you certified that the refrigerant was recovered properly.