Collecting scrap metal and sending it for recycling benefits not only nature and the environment, but can also be a very good additional income. Every year the range of accepted scrap metal is growing, and the requirements for cutting and purity of raw materials are decreasing. Against the backdrop of rising prices for recyclable materials, knowledge of cutting old household appliances can bring real income.
Before you throw away old household appliances, you can benefit from them in the truest sense of the word. Most electrical appliances contain non-ferrous metals, which can be very profitably returned to specialized collection points. Of course, you won't be able to make big money by dismantling only your own broken equipment, but if you get down to business seriously and collect scrap metal from relatives, friends and dumps, you can significantly replenish the family budget.
The main sources of copper
One of the most expensive and common metals in consumer electronics is copper. It is this metal that attracts the attention of scrap collectors more than others, due to its high cost and widespread use due to its properties.
For example, an old tube TV can contain copper parts with a total weight of up to 1.5 kg. The situation is worse with new models of semiconductor TVs, however, they can also collect up to 0.5 kg of copper. Compression refrigerators and electric motors also have a good content of copper windings and spare parts, the copper content of which reaches 1 kg. But often the copper parts in them are inside an aluminum or even worse cast-iron case, which implies the use of a "grinder" and greatly complicates the extraction of copper scrap.
You can get copper for scrapping and in such devices as: transformers, starters, relays, magnetic starters, fluorescent lamp fittings. The yield of pure metal in these parts is not very high, but due to their widespread use and widespread use, they are quite attractive sources of non-ferrous scrap.
How to Collect Copper Correctly?
To optimize the collection of scrap metal, it is necessary to develop an algorithm for the collection of copper-containing devices, their delivery to the place of analysis, the analysis itself and, naturally, delivery to the collection point. The main sources of copper scrap include landfills, construction sites and abandoned transformer booths. A garage can serve as a place for disassembly and storage. You can, of course, carry out the analysis directly on the spot, but for this you will have to constantly have all the necessary tools with you, so this option is only suitable if you have a car.
Getting copper to be scrapped is half the battle. The most important thing is to profitably sell the mined metal. During the year, prices for non-ferrous scrap can fluctuate greatly, and since summer is the main season for copper mining, it is highly undesirable to deliver it during this period. It is better to store the mined copper until winter and wait for an increase in the acceptance price, so it is more profitable to hand over the copper to scrap metal.
