Thought Experiment, more than scrap value

This is to get people thinking beyond "turn-and-burn". Choose a type of item, assume you have a steady supply of it, and you must make sure absolutely no part of it would go to the scrap yard, to the landfill, or even recycling (except regular garbage). No reselling whole items as-is, or parting out to a traditional buyer. Suppose you have 1000 of that item, and more coming. What components could you sell to non-traditional markets? If no market seems to exist for a particular component, how could you create a market for it? What are some ways you can work with other people to create markets for things you would normally toss in a scrap bin? Do not make profitable calculations at this point, and assume you have available funds to start a venture.. it is just brainstorming.

I will start. Aluminum CRT de-gaussing wire can be used by wire crafters once you get the sticky residue off. And it comes in several weird colors!

ABS plastic could be ground into pellets and extruded into material that 3D printers use. That cycle would be amazing.. almost all of a printer can be recycled into printer parts and raw material for printing!

Just realized there is already a sticky about this

I try to study many things, went to school for years after H.S., I have learned to teach myself in all things that interest me. One of the areas I have spent a lot of time in is "Horticulture", in short I know a thing or two about plants. I should it is one of my income "streams". Both of my parents were born on farms and became master gardeners, so almost my entire life I have been growing something.

I got into scrapping as a way of managing commercial waste, reducing a properties "trash bill". One of the things I noticed after inventorying the contents of many company dumpsters, a lot of potted plants from the office are tossed into a dumpster. They may know how to run a office, but they don't know $hit about a plant! After a year of neglect, on a office "death roll", plants are tossed out and replaced with another plant, only to be cared for by a "repeat offender".

I have salvaged, saved, and gave "new life" to 100's of potted plants. A lot of times the plant is tossed with very expensive "high end designer" plant container. I sell them for way more than scrap value! For example, I sold a palm in a very large clay pot for $125 (a new large terracotta pot can cost over $125). That was a "Lady Palm" (Rhapis excelsa), a very slow grower, native to S.E. Asia, I have seen "specimen's" sell for over $250 at retail nurseries.

I like to use the aluminum wire, the "fake copper" type for plant "ties". I braid pieces into "mini" ropes, looks better then twist ties, works better and cost me nothing but my "valuable" time.

Think "outside of the box", recycle, reuse, re-purpose and then scrap what's left. My goal is to cut the "company trash bill", add revenue streams, and help cut the millions of tons of MSW (also called trash) going into landfills.

I have found that if you have two or more of something, its usefull.

For instance. I''m a welder.
Gimme a welder, a 9 inch grinder and some other steel tube and some wood and some long narly looking bed bolts and a fridge compressor and a old gas bottle and I have a full size replica of a Cannon.

Gimme a old freon bottle, parts off the actual fridge compressor, a large spring (The welder etc) and I have a 'Porky the pig' letterbox.
Ditto for 'Daisy the cow' letterbox.....

Motorbike motor etc, trampoline frame, wheels, odd car parts. Gokart or beach buggy. Tie in two spacesaver wheels for the buggy. Use the rear swingarm (cut in 1/2 lengthwise) and the shocks for front suspension.
Cut up a large pressed steel oil heater for treadplate (drill the spotwelds out, cut round edges)

Odd wood, bike rims, plastic sheet, garden tunnelhouse or with chicken wire for a chicken run.
Trampoline frame, plastic sheet, = garden greenhouse.

Washing MC motor & gearbox and gas bottle, = rock polisher, metal polisher.
Two used (or 3) bullet shells. = weed pipe (don't larf, its legal somewhere and I have made hundreds and hundreds of them. = $thou$and$. Google image eesakiwi to see one somewhere.)
Actually. google image 'nut bolt pipe'. I invented that. I betyah if you walk into the right shop in any city in the world (almost) you will find a copy of it.

Flatscreen Tv with the screen and board removed, but leaving the backlight and power supply, plus some certain motherboards. = attractive wall feature = $$$. google them too, not mine, but someones dun it... And made money from it too.

you really have a couple options, first is to find someone who wants what you have. second is to find something you can substitute what you have for...

in the first scenario, you're selling a laptop or washing machine, or whatever to someone who needs one.

The second scenario is where you really have to challenge yourself.

example, Henry Ford invented charcoal briquettes from scrap sawdust in the wheel making operation. substitute for real charcoal and the backyard barbecue industry took off (Kingsford - was Kings FORD).

on another forum I am on, they take the old juice pouches, capri-sun, and re-purpose them as food storage. the mylar pouches can be re-sealed with a seal-a-meal for single serving food...

making biodiesel is another great use of "scrap" vegetable oil into a useful product.

Shredded blue-jean/denim material is used to make insulation for homes (as is newspaper).

you can make generators out of alternators and lawnmowers, windmills from treadmill motors and bicycle wheels.

Got a couple old 10-speed bikes? you can easily combine them and with a little welding or brazing, make a recumbent bicycle that sells for >$500 (plans on the net)

I get a lot of old gas grills, the side burners are always like new...you can hook up several inside with a steel plate and made a griddle...or use the frame for a cart just by adding some nice deck boards...

I have seen guys make small 2-wheel carts to pull a beer cooler with a bicycle just by taking an old hand dolly and cutting it up, lay it horizontal, and add a hitch with a spring from an old woodstove handle...

I'm sure I've got more ideas in my "ideas/plans" folder....