E-waste Certifications

To all of you official "E-Waste" experts,

What is the best way to become R2 certified? Or become an E-steward? What type of strides and hurdles did they throw at you?



If needed, please PM me to discuss.

Originally Posted by spinroch

1: have a secure, indoor facility
2: already have a profitable escrap business
3: be able to afford more employees
It is an admirable goal. I believe you will need another employee to handle the documentation & reports required
It is expensive to attain and keep the certifications, and, as well as the reporting requirements, there are regular audits
You pay for everything
If one wants to run with the big boys, it would be the way to go.

Spinroch - waiting for the ensuing debate

You say "Already have a profitable E-scrap business", but don't you need to be certified to have an escrap business?

Money, money, and more money. I am pretty sure that none of these governing bodies care about anything other than you giving them lots and lots of money. Unless you have a large client that can bring you a life changing amount of material, who is demanding certification it is not worth the trouble.

Are there requirements to recycle good parts before scrapping them? Do they look for you to invest in testing equipment to resell working parts?

Originally Posted by AuburnEwaste

Money, money, and more money. I am pretty sure that none of these governing bodies care about anything other than you giving them lots and lots of money. Unless you have a large client that can bring you a life changing amount of material, who is demanding certification it is not worth the trouble.

It will be, but how much money will it take to become certified? 5k? 20k? and up?

I have many clients who wish to sell to me, but they demand certification, yes. So I'm investigating the potential and my resources are waiting on me to respond with a business plan.

Would it best to get a scrap metal dealers license until I can get R2 certified?

I'm already licensed in my county as a "Traveling Junk Dealer". I wonder if that'll be enough.

Originally Posted by spinroch

No small operator can start as an R2 business. You become a collection center, a drop off site: you start small. Find clients that do not require you to be certified. Be honest & "Green". Larger companies may require their buyers/processors to be R2 or an esteward. Align yourself with an R2 rated buyer. Do nothing to compromise the integrity or your ewaste stream. Register with the county and your DEC. Unless you have DEEP pockets, this is the path, grasshopper.
As to how much it would cost, Google is your friend.
Reselling parts: sell them as Untested, or find a college kid to help you set up a test lab.
(If it were easy, everyone would be doing it)

I feel that would be possible to do. There are many many many technology/consulting/miltary companies nearby and I've already been dealing with people on the inside to scrap their waste. The biggest problem would be to dispose of CRT components legally. There used to be a CRT processing center nearby but they closed down due to money problems as many might.

Originally Posted by spinroch

If you are going to scrap large quantities of crts, look at Nulife glass. You would have to remove the crts, properly recycle the plastic and escrap, and ship Gaylord quantities of crts to Nulife. You would have to charge an appropriate amount for each crts, as it will cost you to scrap them & ship the crts. We are all waiting for a better solution to come along.

Either that or spend $10,000+ on a crt tube cutter.

Originally Posted by logansryche

Either that or spend $10,000+ on a crt tube cutter.

This doesn't address the proper disposal of the leaded glass.

Originally Posted by mthomasdev

This doesn't address the proper disposal of the leaded glass.

I would only deal with CRT's if paid. I do not want to expose myself or anyone else to the hazards of them.

I won't touch CRTs... period! I've been there, and I won't go back!

Now, you'll need to be rich to become R2/E-Stewards certified. You don't have to have this to run an E-Waste business, though.

Start small, and grow as you can. There is no R2/E-Steward this side of Denver to us. It can still be profitable, though.

I'd start small if you have no/limited experience experience in recycling E-Waste. It is not for the faint of heart!

Originally Posted by CCRcameron

I would only deal with CRT's if paid. I do not want to expose myself or anyone else to the hazards of them.

If handled properly there is no hazards. However , I too won't take them without charging to remove. Although at on point CRTs was a major part of what I do. I have somewhere to take them for free,but with low prices and probably soon to be changing regs I don't want to get stuck with a bunch and have to dispose of them for a fee. I think there is a possible profit to me made just removing them for a fee . But as long as there is scrappers that will still take them for free people will continue to post them on cl free stuff. But I think this will change soon with prices the way they are. Iam charging $20 per up to a27" and $25 anything bigger. $40 for rear projection. People will get tired of these things sitting around collecting dust and they'll pay. Some are now. Any just my opinion.

Originally Posted by matador

I won't touch CRTs... period! I've been there, and I won't go back!

Now, you'll need to be rich to become R2/E-Stewards certified. You don't have to have this to run an E-Waste business, though.

Start small, and grow as you can. There is no R2/E-Steward this side of Denver to us. It can still be profitable, though.

I'd start small if you have no/limited experience experience in recycling E-Waste. It is not for the faint of heart!

I've been running an e-scrap business for about a year now and a scrap metal business for about 4. I didn't turn a huge profit last year on E-scrap but it was ok. Only about $4000. Still working on a small property but I'm looking to get a warehouse now to store good computers and such. Stuff I can resell as is, ebay/CL. Any other good sites anyone can recommend?