Newbie

[MistyScraps]

I stumbled into collecting e-waste and scrap metal because one of my kids enjoys disassembling things. Everything I have learned has been from YouTube and reddit so far. I am 43 and have stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer, so I am doing this to have something to do and keep what's left of my time open to my kids.

My biggest challenge is determining what is worth breaking down to the smallest parts and what isn't. I also wonder when it would be best to sell stuff to another scrapper, since they probably can make more off the item than I would be able to.

I was recently given a bunch of servers and CPUs and flat screen monitors from a school that upgraded. I also have a giant copier/printer that I will be breaking down soon.

I follow ewasteBen and a few others on YouTube and that's about my extent of knowledge. I am never too sure what to take off and what to leave when it comes to green boards. Someone mentioned that maybe I could sell all of my fully intact green boards to other people that know what to scrap.

I am open to suggestions.

Thanks for allowing me to introduce myself

 

[Christian333]

I stumbled into collecting e-waste and scrap metal because one of my kids enjoys disassembling things. Everything I have learned has been from YouTube and reddit so far. I am 43 and have stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer, so I am doing this to have something to do and keep what's left of my time open to my kids.

My biggest challenge is determining what is worth breaking down to the smallest parts and what isn't. I also wonder when it would be best to sell stuff to another scrapper, since they probably can make more off the item than I would be able to.

I was recently given a bunch of servers and CPUs and flat screen monitors from a school that upgraded. I also have a giant copier/printer that I will be breaking down soon.

I follow ewasteBen and a few others on YouTube and that's about my extent of knowledge. I am never too sure what to take off and what to leave when it comes to green boards. Someone mentioned that maybe I could sell all of my fully intact green boards to other people that know what to scrap.

I am open to suggestions.

Thanks for allowing me to introduce myself

Hi Misty,
You can sell boards as is to companies like Board Sort or Cash for Commuter Scrap.

Components can be sold individually in batches of like kind on this forum and others like EBay.

Use the reference designators printed in white (on most PCBs-Printed Circuits Boards). For example: IC-Integrated Circuits, they will have the reference designator of (IC, I or U) and have potential for solid gold bond wires, PM-Precious Metal plated substrates and PM microchip die braze.

Please feel free to post photos of your boards and I can point out the components with value.

Janie

 

[MistyScraps]

Thank you, Janie.

One of my most frustrating struggles is I tend to be very gentle and respectful when disassembling things. So I hesitate to remove anything from any board because I don't want to damage it in anyway.

 

[goldshark]

Hey Misty, I personally stay away from e waste. They are made from an untold amount of hazardous waste that we small scale people, do not fully understand the consequences of exposure to. As a compassionate human, I would recommend that you do not expose yourself to these wastes. Maybe some exposure to clean air ,water, and food would help you on your path. I appreciate having to pay the bills though. I believe some of these composites emit fumes and particles upon disassembly ,that is not conducive to an extended life span. No amount of Gold is worth a life.

 

[Cryptostack88]

Hey Misty, I personally stay away from e waste. They are made from an untold amount of hazardous waste that we small scale people, do not fully understand the consequences of exposure to. As a compassionate human, I would recommend that you do not expose yourself to these wastes. Maybe some exposure to clean air ,water, and food would help you on your path. I appreciate having to pay the bills though. I believe some of these composites emit fumes and particles upon disassembly ,that is not conducive to an extended life span. No amount of Gold is worth a life.

What type of materials or e waste is unsafe to dismantle and are there safety precautions one can take? I've been collecting a ton of e waste. Are there certain things took for or stay away from?

 

[goldshark]

Many of the boards are made of either plastics or ceramic compositions, depending on application requirements. Depending on composition of components, breaking up of the boards will create fine particles. These are the biggest producers of lung related problems and further down the line, eventually causing other internal organ problems. If you are going to work processing components, I would recommend a separate structure to contain such particles, a Tyvek suit to keep from contaminating your clothes, either break up pieces under water, or wear an N-100 respirator.
Some of these composites are proprietary, so I cannot say what all they may contain. Depending on origin of manufacturer, they may have to disclose certain chemical hazard information. Unfortunatey, that literature was included in the original packaging. Many pieces just have a simple statement" The state of California has determined that certain components may cause cancer". With that disclosure, they are then in legal compliance. Sorry I can't be of more help/

 

[Golddigger76]

Beryllium dust from broken components is toxic.