3 Primary Areas of Concern for Escrap Entrepreneurs

From my research, I've boiled down the 3 main areas of focus for those looking to earn a living as an escrap entrepreneur:

1. Procurement (of escrap)
2. Disassembly (to maximize profit and satisfy buyers' requirements)
3. Sales (of escrap)

The 35 pages or so of threads under Electronics Recycling seem to continue to revisit these three areas. I wonder if a "sticky" that contains all of the Best Practices for each of these three main areas would be of value? That way, someone learning the ropes could read it and wouldn't have to comb through the threads (like I did over the course of 2 weeks). It would also curtail the continual posting of questions that cover the same basic questions over and over. It might also lead to the creation of new thread posts that touch on deeper issues beyond the basics.

Perhaps, this thread could serve as a repository for such a "sticky"?

I think you are neglecting a major factor: regulations. You have to make sure that you are storing, documenting, shipping and handling all e-waste in compliance with the EPA. This seems to be the biggest hurdle that my company has to overcome.

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"That way, someone learning the ropes could read it and wouldn't have to comb through the threads (like I did over the course of 2 weeks)."

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I disagree.

I see it as "sweat equity".

You have invested two weeks of your time into gaining knowledge.....why would you want to just hand it over to your neighbor, formatted so that in a half hour he can go from not knowing the difference between RAM and CPU to successfully pursuing the same ewaste streams as you?

You will soon learn that the less your family, friends, and associates know about the value of ewaste, the better. By all means, let the world know that you recycle computers and appreciate any that come your way......but treat your newfound knowledge as the investment of your time that it is and avoid just giving it away to those who might otherwise not be very serious about entering the industry.

That all being said, I appreciate your desire to aide the community and know that you have a charitable heart. Good luck in all of your scrap ventures and adventures!

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Originally Posted by BohemianLush

I think you are neglecting a major factor: regulations. You have to make sure that you are storing, documenting, shipping and handling all e-waste in compliance with the EPA. This seems to be the biggest hurdle that my company has to overcome.

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That's a great point, Bohemian. Interestingly, regulations rarely came up in the threads I read, especially those threads where someone was seeking info about collecting a few pounds of boards to ship to an escrap buyer. Isn't there different standards for large recyclers/buyers of ewaste vs. the little guy pulling together a few pounds of boards to ship off for extra grocery money?

I looked up the EPA regulation for someone interested in recycling PC boards.

Whole used circuit boards meet the definition of spent materials but also meet the definition of scrap metal. Therefore, whole used circuit boards that are recycled are exempt from the hazardous waste regulations.

This probably explains why there hasn't been a lot of questions about "regulations" from the small guys recycling PC boards, Bohemian.

If you haven't already done so, you'd best be prepared to take a crash course in bookkeeping as well ; )

I got on Ind. website for the IDEM (Ind.Dept. of Environmental Management) and tried to sign up as a recycler but it states that unless we move 20 some ton of ewaste a month then don't bother trying to sign up. In other words we're too small a fish in a big sea. No certification for me,,,

Maybe I'm just old and grumpy but man I just don't see the value of spoon feeding people anything! All the information is here, this place is a library of wealth that if one is enterprising enough will yield you just that, wealth. There is a card catalog at the top of every page in the form of a search feature but folks are too lazy to use it. Thing is I don't people who are too lazy to use the search feature scrapping in my neighborhood. I want people to care about this, learn about it, maximize it their own way on their own scale of Time Vs. Money not get spoon-feed information and the go ripping around the neighborhood leaving CRT tubes all over the place. Bottom line is for me, the info is here for the reading, no sticky is going to fix lazy... Just my .02

The same could be said for any business really:
1. Get business
2. Do what you said you were going to do
3. Get paid

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Originally Posted by Ewasted

The same could be said for any business really:
1. Get business
2. Do what you said you were going to do
3. Get paid

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1 and 3 are the hardest.

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Originally Posted by burrage1

Maybe I'm just old and grumpy but man I just don't see the value of spoon feeding people anything! All the information is here, this place is a library of wealth that if one is enterprising enough will yield you just that, wealth. There is a card catalog at the top of every page in the form of a search feature but folks are too lazy to use it. Thing is I don't people who are too lazy to use the search feature scrapping in my neighborhood. I want people to care about this, learn about it, maximize it their own way on their own scale of Time Vs. Money not get spoon-feed information and the go ripping around the neighborhood leaving CRT tubes all over the place. Bottom line is for me, the info is here for the reading, no sticky is going to fix lazy... Just my .02

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Hey with all due respect, opposite that card catalog is a date for the top post, and you just might be less grumpy if you didn't spend time searching for and responding to threads that have been dead and forgotten for almost a year. It'll save you from not spoon feeding people who aren't here!

Just tryin' to help

;)

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Originally Posted by volvoscrapper

Hey with all due respect, opposite that card catalog is a date for the top post, and you just might be less grumpy if you didn't spend time searching for and responding to threads that have been dead and forgotten for almost a year. It'll save you from not spoon feeding people who aren't here!

Just tryin' to help

;)

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Touch'e Sir... In my defense I wasn't here to gripe then...

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Originally Posted by Ewasted

The same could be said for any business really:
1. Get business
2. Do what you said you were going to do
3. Get paid

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I wanna be Ewasted when i grow up!

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Originally Posted by Enoch43

I disagree.

I see it as "sweat equity".

You have invested two weeks of your time into gaining knowledge.....why would you want to just hand it over to your neighbor, formatted so that in a half hour he can go from not knowing the difference between RAM and CPU to successfully pursuing the same ewaste streams as you?

You will soon learn that the less your family, friends, and associates know about the value of ewaste, the better. By all means, let the world know that you recycle computers and appreciate any that come your way......but treat your newfound knowledge as the investment of your time that it is and avoid just giving it away to those who might otherwise not be very serious about entering the industry.

That all being said, I appreciate your desire to aide the community and know that you have a charitable heart. Good luck in all of your scrap ventures and adventures!

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I disagree. If someone is serious about getting into the business they will have scruples enough to find out everything they need to know without visiting this site. I did it for 2 years. If you don't want to try and help people seeking knowledge in this forum just put a big sticky at the top that says "All answers must be garnered by using search bar" Now in more rural areas I can see where some would not want any competition just absorbing knowledge ala "instant gratification" and there is this mystical like order not to tell anyone about ewaste. I subscribe to the more who know the more customers I get philosophy. Im not going to impart years of research to them over a beer so they can steal my customers though lol. I live in the Tampa area and I have no more than 7 R2 certified big boys in my backyard. They aren't even scratching 20% of the supply. Bring it

Which one of those 7 pays for CRT tubes? ;)