Minnesota Appliance and Electronics Recycling

Hello All!

I started in recycling in 2008 with a small pickup and a one stall garage in my spare time. It took until 2010 to quit my job (at a scrap yard) to run my business full time.



We now process 1.2 million pounds of electronics a year and around 1100 ton of appliances and scrap metal.

So I guess the moral of the story is that from humble beginnings can come great things!

I look forward to future conversations with anybody as "into" recycling as I am!

Hey Midwest,

Im one of those small pickup one stall garage guys. I was wondering what you know about hazardous waste within e-wast. I know inside the CRTs the lead dust is highly toxic but, is the out of the glass hazardous even if you break it. It looks like there is a layer of lead on the outside. Is there any other electronics that I should stay away from?

mrsamsonite,

Good to meet you!

If you were to remove the funnel off of a CRT you would see inside a red coating, which is lead oxide. Otherwise the rest of the lead is encased in the funnel glass and the firt (The bonding material between the funnel and the panel. The panel (Screen part of tube) is generally 70% of the weight of the tube and typically consist of 0 to 2% lead and trace amounts of Barium Oxide. Long story short if you break the funnel you are releasing lead dust as well as the phosphorus powder on the inside of the panel.
Go to YouTube and Search for "CRT hot wire". I built two similar machines to safely separate the funnel and the panel.

If handled the right way there is no type of electronic too hazardous to handle. The only types of hazardous material we handle are leaded glass, fluorescent bulbs, mercury switches and PCB Capacitors.

I hope this helps a bit.

If you do plan on dismantling tv's etc remember to release the vacuum on the tube, if you don't and to drop it it will implode into millions of little bits ( I know from experience!!)

Good luck in the e-cycling.

BTW what state are you in? Many state's have similar e-waste plans as minnesota and if so you may be able to sell your tv's and monitors to another processor.

Welcome to the forum and will be waiting for your post, sounds like you may have good info. that could be used by many people on this forum.

Welcome!

Welcome and looking forward to reading more of your postings, im sure you have alot of knowledge!

Welcome

Welcome from Massachusetts. Working on humble beginnings here.

Welcome

Hello from a neighbor in Wisconsin.