I figure I might start putting in here what I find and stuff.
Most of my scrap comes from a small free scrap dumping area. Its 10 blocks from home.
I use a plastic coal sack and car safety belt as straps. Car safety belt, when tied in a knot, always comes free when you untie it by finger. And it spreads the load on my shoulders.
The most weight I have carried is about 60kg - 130lbs - ten blocks home.
Last weekend it was a 55kg 3000watt UPS inc 15kg batterys, 20 blocks to home, from a dumpster. That was a great dumpster find that day. Made two trips, also got a homebrew barrel and superdooper reflux condensor and heating matt. New trailer lights etc etc.
Homebrew alcohols legal here, even though I don't drink alcohol.
I don't have a car to transport my scrap and find its generally better to just pay my neighbour for use of his vehickle. I pay generously, its a huge saving compaired to paying for my own, and its normally about the same as what I get for my Ali cans
The Ali cans normally come from another neighbour, who I give any recycleable beer bottles (750ml) that I find in my travels too.
He gives those bottles to a friend if his, who gives him free 'homebrew alcohol' in return as he needs them to bottle his homebrew for storage, and swaps...
So you can see how far recycling can take you.
Lately I have been scrapping down electronics, computers etc, from a guys backyard. He was into the ewaste thing till the company went bust. He's still got hundreds of CRTs to get rid off, but the Goverments gonna sort that out later. In the meanwhile he cannot use his yard, so I suggested that I do the work in return for the ewaste, I dispose of the plastic and he sells and keeps the $ from the sheetmetal.
That way there's no time wasted for him. He's got his own business on the property too.
So far I have been saving up metal from the start of this year. Have about 160kg #2 Copper, 25kg Brass, 250kg + Ali and sacks of plastic coated wire. Sack of Ali/Copper.
Today I got.
A motorbike battery, 20 odd floppy drive boards, Ali extrusion 12ft long box section, several coils plastic coated wire, 3 computer power supplys, 6 ft Copper tube with Brass fittings, small Cu wire drier motor, some Ali mesh.
I found a computer xp home with hdrive and two microwaves. I will scrap the microwaves and take the computer home to see if it works. I can swap computer stuff with another guy who fixes washing machines etc.
At home there's 4 fridge compressors and 2 microwave transformers to break down.
Since I expect to get another fridge compressor tomorrow, and more soon, I wait till I have ten or more before scrapping them. The cases I fill with transformer & motor iron cores & tack weld shut & sell later as 'HM insize' @ NZ$220 ton. That $ goes back to the scrap dropoff areas owner, so I try & get the maxamim $ for it, for him. To keep things turning over happyly. He's picking up two ton + of sheet metal from my property soon. Its all superclean and as he gets a good price for it, deserved.
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