How To Recycle Your Computer And Make Money

1. About the practice...
   Computer recycling is amongst the highest growth industries in America today, but that doesn't mean that this is just a business for the "Big Boys". I personally know of several people who have made a decent turnover on old computer equipment that was stored in their basements for years. It doesn't take a huge company to start dismantling computers, just a little knowledge of what can be found inside the case once you crack it open.
   
   

2. Where to Start?
   A computer is essentially a steel box, with plastic covers, some wire, boards and drives. After unplugging the machine, the first thing to do is safely assess the case, find out how it is sealed, and start removing covers. Most computers have snap on plastic covers on the front, which simply pull or pry off. When the cover has been removed, you will be left facing a steel box, with drives and a power switch sticking out of the front, and a power cable coming out of the back. The power cable should be laid aside as the first item removed, it is a braided copper wire inside of a rubber sleeve. The section where the cable was plugged in is called the "power supply", this box is easy to remove(usually just four screws), and should be one of the first components removed. This will lead to many small cables and wires which erupt from the inside end of the power supply, these wires can go into a box along with the power cable. Almost every wire and cable inside of a computer simply snaps off, there should be no problems for anyone there.
   
   

3. Find The Drives
   The next section to remove will come out through the front, and this piece is the box that holds the floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, CD drive, or DVD drive. Each of these devices will have a different value as scrap, and they will need to be kept separate for when you turn them over to a dealer. Almost every computer manufacturer has their own method of holding in the drives, but they are all generally easy to remove by design, after all computers were engineered with an upgrade plan in mind. Any screws or structural pieces that were attached to the drives, or held them in, should be separated at this point since they will go with the steel case to a steel yard when the machine is dismantled.
   
   

4. The Good Stuff
   The items still remaining in your computer case will be the hardest to remove, but also the most valuable. The biggest piece still inside will be the motherboard, which will have smaller boards attached to it, called "finger cards" or "daughter cards". All of the small cards will be easy to remove, by removing the one screw that holds them onto the case, and unplugging them from the motherboard. The motherboard usually has seven to ten screws holding it to the back of the case, and they are sometimes driven by a Torx type screwdriver bit. If you have never seen one before, this type of screw looks like it has a star cut into it instead of a slot or a cross. The normal screws inside of a computer that use this head will be either a #10 or #15 Torx driver, they can be purchased for less than a dollar at a home supply store or hardware store. There may be other items attached to the motherboard that will need to be removed before the screws can be accessed, such as fans and heat sinks(aluminum radiators inside the computer). Fans should be stored separately, as should the aluminum components.
   
   

5. Which Leaves us With...
   The CPU chip is the most valuable part in the entire machine, especially considering that the pins that hold it to the motherboard are generally made of gold. This chip is the biggest individual chip on the board, and will generally be right under it's own fan or large heat sink. You should be extremely careful to pull the chip out directly, and straight up, to preserve the gold pins without breaking them off inside the motherboard. When you take your parts to a scrap dealer the chips will be the most valuable parts pound for pound, and they should be treated appropriately.
   
   

6. A Trip To The Metal Dealer
   Once your machine has been broken down, you should have a collection of parts something like this:
   

   CPU Chip Motherboard Finger Cards Hard Disk Drive Floppy Drive CD or DVD Drives Box of Wire Fans Power Supply Steel Case Plastic Components

   Now that you have done the total breakdown, you will be able to sell your electronics waste for the maximum value pound for pound. If you had taken the entire machine to a scrap dealer that handles electronic recycling, you might have received a few dollars at best, or at worst been charged for handling on the machine. As broken down commodities however, you can now pull in up to ten dollars or more per machine, a profit multiplier of between 5 and ten times higher value after breakdown. Be sure, when you sell your electronic scrap, go to a company that specializes in computer recycling rather than a steel yard. A steel yard will pay for the material as contaminated steel.
   
   As you can probably see from the process above, this is a rather involved job for one machine. Consider what will happen however, if one person gathers up the old, unwanted computers from their friends and neighbors, and repeats this process on 15 to 20 machines. There is no practical limit on the money that can be generated if enough computers are available. The best thing to do is to start looking for old junk computers in closets, basements, and garages that are clearly past their prime, and find a reliable electronics recycler that will purchase your materials.
   
   

7. List of Computer Recyclers:
   TBS Industries Computer Recycling: www.tbsindustries.com
   SEER Recycling: www.seerrecycling.com