Dallas teacher hopes to recycle e-waste from class project

Hi Scrap Metal Forum folks!

I'm a Dallas 4th grade science teacher who has started a new program for my students each year. They bring in old unused and unwanted electronics which we disassemble in class, talking about the various parts they're discovering (many have never held a screwdriver before, lol). We search in particular for electric motors to harvest for our Scribble Bot project. Four markers for legs, a plastic cup for a body, and an off-balanced electric motor hooked up to a lantern battery makes fun "robots" what wobble all over the place, leaving colorful drawings behind :) The kids love it, and it's a great way to get kids excited about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).

Of course, this project brings in more donations than I could ever use in class, and I'm currently overwhelmed with desktop computers, printers, and more circuit boards from VCRs and DVD players than I know what to do with! It would be cool to turn that waste into more money for the science curriculum, and that's how I found you guys!

We'll first let me commend you on teaching our future , I often say teachers must not have trouble sleeping at night knowing they have truly Made a change in someone's lives daily . We have a buyer and sellers section , most have their prices proudly displayed . Some will even sort for you if your confused about what's what .

We also have a entire section dedicated to ewaste identification , there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum . Good luck and thanks for doing what you do !

Thanks, Metalbestos! I love teaching and can't imagine doing anything else!

You should see the kids' faces the first time they crack open a VCR or DVD player! It's like a whole new world inside those plastic and metal shells! Priceless!

I've been browsing the forums for the past hour....TONS of useful info. Just trying to figure out if I get enough stuff each year from this project to make selling it worth while. Steep learning curve, and it looks like what *I* thought of as "a lot of ewaste" is a drop in the bucket compared to the pound and pounds of material some folks dig through!

What an encouraging post! Your students will probably remember the class where they got to break stuff and build cool things the rest of their lives.
Be sure to provide eye protection, etc. Nothing can get a wonderful idea cancelled quicker than injury .Above all have fun!!

Imagine the kids will be even more excited that they can get paid from breaking stuff and recycling it! Lots of education possibilities, from environmental and science to money management/business management with scrap yards,etc... the kids are lucky to have you!

Keep us updated, would you?

Hope it's OK to post this question here:

Offer of good Karma: I'd love to meet or chat with any Dallas-area buyers/sellers who can give me a quick rundown on what to do and where to go in Dallas in terms of which things to break down, good places to sell, etc. I was thrilled to see that the user easyrecycle, who has lots of helpful posts, is a Dallas-area guy, but he's not been active lately and his website Easy Recycle says he had a serious injury (hope that's an old post and that all is well! Poor guy!)

Searching the buyers/sellers listings are not revealing any Dallas locations, and the near-Dallas locations (Waxahachie and Denton) are far enough away that I feel like I could lose money just driving there, since I don't REALLY know what I'm doing yet. Like I said, I'll be doing this project every year, and I'd love to have any assistance figuring out if the volume I have here is worth the space, sorting time, etc. it would take to turn it into a reinvestment in my classroom, not to mention quick advice on what's worth breaking down/keeping whole, etc.

If there's a better forum category for asking such questions, please redirect me and accept my apologies! You guys all seem so incredibly welcoming and helpful!

Yep, scrapme, we definitely had eye and hand protection :) Safety first! And, yeah, it would be cool to talk about the economic side of it, too, once I learn more about it myself! I'm trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can! We already talked about the environmental impact, too...a big part of why the pile has been stacking up in my classroom to the point that I finally need to do something about it! I refuse to let go of it until I'm sure it's going to do no harm (and maybe do the class some good!).

Welcome to the forum from a sandbar off the coast of NC.

Metal said it well enough for most of it. Far as buyers, you may have to ship out to receive the best pricing. Usually no amount is to small for a lot of our buyers. Just make sure enough to cover shipping. You could also have them collect cell phones as part of the program. Another useful product to break open an let them see the inside of it. I imagine the tiny cameras would be met with amazement. lol.

Plenty of folks from your area or Texas in general who'll likely chime in an share if there is a local about worth going to.

An..I would a picture of the squiggle bot..just cause it sounds awesome.

Good luck an thanks for teaching the youth of tomorrow, it's not an easy job.

Sirscrapalot - Keeper of the traveling cooler, an quote master that inspires false taglines(Hi British!).

as a treacher you should know, research is the key to any advancement in education

First let me commend you on several win win situations you are in and my respect as a teacher.

NOW. That said, there are many dangerous materials in electronics, Cadmium, and beryllium to name a couple

These two can cause an instant cancer sentence. it may not show up for up to 30 years or so but !

The boards are put together by machine under laboratory conditions. Their main components are copper fiberglass and epoxy. none of them are good for the kids. breathing filters are an absolute must.

I'm not against what you intend to do, just do it right. The info is all here. Because of the internet every yahoo in the world thinks they can get rich scrapping computers and 90% of them have no idea what they are doing. just sayin.

This is my third year and I still don't know half what I should know.

I have an exceptional IQ, In the 5th grade I had an English teacher who had to be one of the finest teachers ever, as well as well as a top of the list human being. In the 6th grade I had the worst, most bitter, male hating excuse for a teacher that ever lived and she ruined any interest I ever had for a formal education, as you can probably tell from my writing.

You have the rare opportunity of making a difference in the world with your experiment and foresight to do this. In several areas dealing with electronics, most particularly computers.

Sorry this has turned into a rant but I take e scrapping as seriously as a brain surgeon and more so then some.

Your first step was right on, you came to the right place. mcw

I wish I had a teacher that provided instructions on building robots when I was a kid. It is really cool what you are doing. You should post some videos if you get the chance. It would be cool to see what these kids build.

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Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

An..I would a picture of the squiggle bot..just cause it sounds awesome.

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I'll definitely post a picture the next time we do that project!

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Originally Posted by olddude

none of them are good for the kids. breathing filters are an absolute must.

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Thanks olddude! No need to apologize! Safety is something every teacher takes seriously, and you're right to bring up any concerns you have. That's why I joined this forum...to do it right!

Before I began the project, I did my homework (or so I thought) on the safety of the project, and found info disturbingly difficult to locate on safety measures while disassembling electronics. Here are a couple of rules we discussed in class, which had severe penalties if broken:
1) Electronic waste can be hazardous to you and the environment, so safety is a must! Gloves and goggles must be worn at all times (I'll be adding face masks to the list, thanks for the recommendation! I initially didn't have them because of the other rules listed below...feel free to let me know if I've overlooked something)
2) Do no break circuit boards, crush any components, or remove pieces from circuit boards. They can contain chemicals that are harmful or can release dust into the air that's bad for you. If it can't be unscrewed or easily snipped with scissors, leave it be!
3) Do not attempt to open batteries or disassemble monitors or TVs. It's not safe!
4) Snip power cords before attempting to open any device. NEVER plug in a device that has been opened.

We also washed hands and cleaned desktops afterward, even though tabels were covered and gloves were used. My understanding was that as long as components weren't being cracked, broken or opened up (only unscrewed from their chassis) I wouldn't have to worry about airborn contamination....PLEASE let me know if I am mistaken! We've primarily deconstructed VCRs, DVD players, and tape decks (things to get the motors out of)...if there are other common household items beyond TVs, monitors, and batteries that I should add to my not-safe-to-deconstruct list, please let me know. Any websites or threads particularly about safety with ewaste would be awesome, too. Like I said, that info is hard to find! There's a billion ways to find out ow bad cadmium is for you, but finding out the particular things one might do to risk exposure (besides smoking and eating leafy green vegetables, lol) has eluded me.

In the end, if it's just too hazardous to do safely, I can find another way to teach the same lessons. :)

I think what you are doing is cool. As to the question about making some income, since you are getting more material than you need for projects, it appears you do have an income opportunity. The big thing that strikes me at the moment is the space required to do this. If you start separating / breaking down things (you specifically mentioned computers & printers), then you will end up with a variety of components that will need to be stored separately until you get enough to sell. Just a "big picture" breakdown of a computer tower for example would yield a motherboard, a power supply, various wiring, heat sink(s), drives (hard, CD/DVD), possibly memory sticks, etc., etc. If you were to break certain items down further, then you have additional storage/container needs. Boxes, buckets, etc. start to take up space pretty quick. I'm basically a hobbyist at this at the moment, but the space issue is a real concern. The second space issue relates to the plastics you will encounter, especially printers, as there is (probably) plastic in or on most of the items you are already working with, so you have an idea about this. If you can find a place to accept plastic (even if for free), you need to consider that since you can create a large amount of plastic waste very quickly (that would also be a good environmental education angle since you could keep it out of a dumpster / landfill & perhaps discuss / study the process from collection to ultimate reuse). From what I can gather, some plastics buyers (or even folks who don't pay, but accept material) can be very particular about the type of plastic received and the manner in which it is received (baled, color separated, etc.). A disclaimer here is that I do not have a source for my plastics at this time and so I pay to take it to our county recycling facility. What I just mentioned came largely from SMF folks who have posted and some online research.

My wife is a kindergarten teacher (26+ years), so you have my respect for what you do. Again, very cool project and best of luck.

What I want to say, it's a great job you have and you are doing "outstanding" at that job. We need more teachers like you. Yes there's more aspects to scraping than just tearing things apart. Safety has to be a priority with kids and there will be areas of the scrap business they should not be allowed to work with. Keep at it! You are teaching kids at a age, where lessons they learn at that age, will be life long lessons!

Hey, awesome idea! It's great to see teachers who care. I graduated from high school almost 30 years ago but I stayed in touch with a couple of my teachers, one of whom definitely changed my life in a big way!

It would've been really cool to have a teacher that showed us stuff like the things you're talking about.

As for a place to take your ewaste, there's HLH&R in Waxahatchie, as well as Friedman (FMI Recycling) on Glenfield in Oak Cliff (tell Britnee you got their name from here!) Those are the only two I have firsthand experience with. With so many base metals recyclers around in DFW, they tend to be pretty evenly competitive on their pricing for steel, wire, motors, etc

Anyway... I'm in Allen (northeast DFW metro). If I can be of further assistance, let me know.

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Originally Posted by shinjiseverson

Hi Scrap Metal Forum folks!

I'm a Dallas 4th grade science teacher who has started a new program for my students each year. They bring in old unused and unwanted electronics which we disassemble in class, talking about the various parts they're discovering (many have never held a screwdriver before, lol).

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Very impressive. I think you have the beginning of a highly workable education model. One that teaches practical skill sets while producing income. Highly commendable. Good luck with your continuing endeavor. You have come to the right place for information and contacts. Great group here.

As you'll find out as you read, circuit boards have 2 main groups. All green boards and brown boards. I sell the brown boards locally after picking some goodies off. The double green boards will usually run from $.50 to $4-5.00 a lb. Motherboards and cards from computer equip. have the most value but other items also have good value. I usually stock boards in banana boxes or use totes.
The brown boards have alum. heatsinks, transformers, coils, chokes, and occasionally larger IC chips I pull for a better price. Price usually runs around .10 to .20 a lb for brown boards. With enough volume it all adds up.
The electronic section can be your friend.

Really a great idea you have!I really wish we did cool stuff like this in Grade 4, sounds way more fun than spelling quizzes. I am quite interested in these squiggle bots, I might just have to make one :D

coming from a family of ex teachers i just wanna say thanks if i ever become a teacher i will do this