Scrap more business style?

[voeckel]

Hi team,

1st, I would like to say a HUGE thanks to SAM and lazersteve for these two really cracked me with their videos on recovery and refining.

I am sucking up information for some weeks now, driving my girlfriend crazy. :lol: This forum shows incredibly valuable information and thanks at this point to all the contributors for helping others to learn and to take the time to explain things.

There is one thing I would like to ask for I got aware of a certain general behavior when it comes to finding scrap for refining. I think of this a bit more business style and wondered if someone of you experienced guys have ever considered to buy large chunks of specific scrap to process it, instead of dealing with junkmen or yard sales, etc.?

I searched the web up and down, back and forth, but what i really want to find regarding this, stays hidden: who has knowledge of international WEEE prices/MT and where to find serious contacts to do this in larger scale?

This is bugging me since the beginning. You get lots of fake offers from africa, etc. But the serious guys seem to deal amongst themselves, not coming into daylight.

Long story short:
I think of buying 1-2 MTs of i.e. mobile scrap, boards, etc and to process them myself in the here discussed ways. I imagine, it would be cheaper due to the amount and you don't spend hours and days to get your recycable material for PMs.

So... what do you think? any experiences made with this approach and maybe even contacts or links to actual prices in that regard?

Many, many thanks in advance and keep up the fantastic work in here!

Pete

EDIT:
I forgot to mention that I am aware of the restrictions regarding import of WEEE from other countries. We have very strict rules/laws, etc. regarding that here on EU level as well.

 

[joem]

We all have similar and different directions when it comes to ewaste. For me commercial ( some I buy from, some for free) and residential ( always free) works well for me when I advertise. I am a small scale computer/metal scrapper compared to others here but it works for me and is very profitable for me. Oh yeah and stay away from the African"deals" unless you live there and can verify everything in person.

 

[voeckel]

I also thought of marketing ads, etc. but then I think this is exactly the kind of time consuming process afterwards, that I would like to avoid. Going around, collecting the material, etc.

My 'wishful' thought is basically to buy a big quantity at once from a professional scrap dealer who ships the material and to save the time this way, focussing on processing. But for this, I try to get a feeling on market prices and business contacts in the first place.

I know there are lots of scrapper platforms like recycleinme.com, scrapmonster.com, etc. but all you find in there are offers from Africa, etc. I had checked already a couple of companies in Cameroon with the local chamber of commerce there and all of them are fakes. A serious seller is still out there but where to find?

Pete

 

[acpeacemaker]

Hey,

Every so often I have bought scrap by the 30 yard roll off. A lot of things you have to take into consideration. Before getting into it knee deep, you need some type of idea on estimates from steel all the way to pm's. Different scrap=different yields. These people can charge a lot of gas just to deliver it. Then it needs picked back up to go to a yard. Plus time constraints. More than one person might be needed etc.
If you want to find residual client, look where people use certain things in their line of field constantly. I have found several clients now that go out into their field replacing their customers software, and a lot of times their whole system. Which by the end of the week they had a truck and trailor load. They had the option of dropping it all off to a e waste recycler, but they charge $20. per computer. So here I came with a business card and a proposition and its mine. I found through it all don't go to the obvious where all the local scrappers would. Think outside the box.

 

[voeckel]

True words spoken. Yes, the financial calculation has to be ok of course.
I like the way of your 'out-of-the-box' thinking.

Well, I placed an ad on craigslist for my area here but i don't give it much chances for I write in English in an area where they don't really like it that much. They will more look in their native languages which i don't speak or write so far.
It is just to be shown. Let's see what happens.

I need to check a bit around here regarding the system in general (I am not located in my native country/area). Where scrap yards are, landfills, and so on.

However, finding some information on prices and serious professional dealers is my ultimate goal. 'Try to simplify things', and that is what i would like to do. Customs, taxes, and theses things are not a problem. Even if it is a bit more complex, it is in the end a simple purchase process from A to B. Everything around that can be clarified with the related contacts and is already in the process.

I like the style in this forum! It is very active and people like to provide useful and friendly advice. I hope, i will be able to provide the same soon, too. *thumbs up*

 

[voeckel]

All,

Not sure if this should maybe be put in the safety section or in general information or so. But since I mentioned yesterday Africa, I thought I put it in here for it is also related to the topic 'where to find scrap'.

I browsed a bit yesterday late evening, doing a bit of research. What I found then was really disturbing and I think it is worth sharing. We all think of our lives in a kind of local style, but we tend to forget what happens with all the scrap that is illegally circulating globally. And our processes here are used elsewhere, too, but in utterly devastating ways and with fatal outcomes.

Have a look at this one and remember that what we do is not only a hobby or small business. It is on one hand a very dangerous one and on the other, it helps to recover resources in a controlled environment rather than doing it like the guys in this docu.

The woman 'cooking' the PCBs :shock: instantly reminded me of Jim's videos about depopulating phone boards in a sand bath. He has much more experience than I do but I think even if it has been done for years, we tend to underestimate the dangers.

Guys, be very careful about HOW you do it. The part that shocked me most was to realize that those guys around the world use the same chemicals and the same processes like we do but if you forget about protecting yourself, you're DEAD.
Quick or slow, it does not matter. And God knows what you might pass on genetically to your future kids if you don't put yourself at the top of the priority list.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/ghana804/video/video_index.html

Poor souls...