Why Some Items Cost Money to Recycle

Costs Associated With Recycling

Are you sitting on a pile of unwanted electronics because you don’t understand why it costs money to recycle some of them? Most electronics at Spectrum Ecycle Solutions in St. Louis are free to drop off and recycle, but a few do have costs associated with them. Here’s why.

Hazardous Materials

Many electronics contain some form of hazardous materials that require specialized disposal. Once we disassemble your electronics, which is labor intensive and done in a strict fashion, we must sort and separate the materials into their component parts.

Once the pieces are sorted into glass, plastic, precious metals, and other parts, we send them to be converted into raw materials to be used in other products. Any hazardous materials are sent through the proper disposal channels so as not to harm our ecosystem. But before we can even get to this stage, we must perform data destruction.

Complete Data Destruction

Ensuring that your data is destroyed – not just wiped but literally destroyed – also requires detailed attention. We consider this the most important aspect of our equipment and technology recycling process.

Following the strict codes of data destruction involves many steps including destruction, auditing, testing, documentation, and labor, as well as the annual certification process. We do this to keep our customers’ information safe and their trust in Spectrum Ecycle complete.

Salvaging Raw Materials

As manufacturers have begun to use less valuable raw materials in our electronics and appliances, like plastic instead of metals, our ability to sell enough of those raw materials to make up the costs associated with the entire recycling process just isn’t there.

The amount of work that goes into harvesting the tiny bits of gold and copper inside copiers, phones, and other items is also time-consuming and labor intensive, which adds to the cost of the process.

Cost Awareness

We love what we do and we’re happy to be part of the e-waste solution, that’s why we feel explaining why the process comes with costs that need to be offset may encourage you to recycle electronics and batteries more often. The small amount that we charge for just a few items is very reasonable for the amount of work that goes into helping our ecosystem stay in balance.

Free Electronics Recycling & Drop Off

You’ll be happy to know – most electronics are still free to recycle at Spectrum Ecycle. We offer quantity discounts, St. Louis area pick-ups, and have a drop off location at our main facility. For a list of items that we accept and those that have minor charges, see our residential or commercial recycling pages or contact us today for more information. 314-428-0777