plastics recycling

Does anyone know where I can recycle plastic bumpers in South Carolina?

I have recently taken on a couple of body shops but I have to take everything when I take it which includes the bumpers.

I would rather not just throw them in the landfill if I can make some $ off of them. I have probably a small trailer load right now but will have more as I pick up from the body shops.

Good Luck. Plastics is a hard market right now and bumpers off cars are a very low grade plastic.
You would be better off landfilling it.
Once in a while you can find companies that refurbish bumpers and will give you $3-$10ea.

Actually, bumpers off cars pay pretty good around me (Illinois). I currently get 10 cents per lb for pickup truck sized loads. Last year I was getting 15. That's better than steel has been. And they will pay more depending on the volume. I don't know your situation, but if you can stockpile a full truck load it may or may not pay to ship them up this way. If you have the room, even if it's break even, at least they're out of the landfill.

Oh, and I should add, these are not refurbish prices. They strictly grind them into cullet to be recycled into new bumpers. So for scrap pricing, it's not too bad.

Originally Posted by smallscaleassembly

Does anyone know where I can recycle plastic bumpers in South Carolina?

I have recently taken on a couple of body shops but I have to take everything when I take it which includes the bumpers.

I would rather not just throw them in the landfill if I can make some $ off of them. I have probably a small trailer load right now but will have more as I pick up from the body shops.

Im in the same pickle my friend.........I have plastic and glass from scrapping printers and printer-scanners, and can find no where that will take them.


PRD

Originally Posted by PalmettoRedDog83

Im in the same pickle my friend.........I have plastic and glass from scrapping printers and printer-scanners, and can find no where that will take them.

For the glass, you might ask any of your municipal recyclers if they have contact with producers of PGA, processed glass aggregate. It's pretty low value but some landfill operators use it as ADC and road base.

Plastics are tough. I have found that ABS, the primary electronics plastic, seems to find itself in a pickle, as of late. The grading appears to be getting more and more stringent.

PRD, have you spoken to these people? You probably have but I thought it might be worth mentioning, at least in case you had a reference or review for them to post.

question about plastic. I've heard that ABS is a number 7 plastic. I'm not sure how grading of plastic works unless I clearly see a number on it, but I've also heard that printers and the backs of old tv's are ABS plastic. If your municipal facility takes #1-7 plastics could you just give them all your plastic even if its not marked?

You should definitely check with your municipal recycling center/curbside collector, first, before throwing e-waste plastics into the mix. Make sure when you ask, you don't just say, "I some #7 plastics," as that doesn't really reflect your material, compared to what they are thinking that you mean. For example, my area recyclers can handle #2 (HPE) and #5 (polypropylene) but exclude anything that is less than two inches wide and thick and/or longer than two feet. That means many of the plastics I pull from appliances can't go in the recycling bin. Also, most municipal plants are producing plastic bales which are food-grade, since that's where most demand is happening, and ABS is decidedly not safe to eat off of, I think. Many publicly-accessible recovery facilities can't process much more than soda bottles and newspaper and end up throwing out anything that doesn't fit the bill. Engineering grades, like ABS and polycarbonate, usually require spec'd bales and larger-scope brokerage, which is something small recyclers and municipalities have trouble doing. I have sent plastics to my e-waste processors and forum buyers and, while not free, it was pretty cheap and easier to do than overloading my recycling dumpster with stuff I can't, in good faith, expect will be recycled.

If you don't see a #7 triangle, someplace, look on the inside surface of the bezel or plastic form. You should see something like, ">ABS<" embossed on it, someplace.

Interestingly, I just found a piece of ABS marked with a #9 in the resin code triangle. I wonder if that's going to become the norm.

Originally Posted by hobo finds

Most recycling centers can handle ABS plastic

Please tell that Clearfield, Clarion, Jefferson, Elk, Center, and Indiana counties ... closest place that takes marked ABS is down in West Virginia ( 6+ hour drive ).

I just checked their site. They specify "food containers" for their plastics (and distinctly forbid "computers") but is this list different from what they take in AZ?

I have yet to call them up about my carload of medical device hard platics tho...Ive just discovered a place called "blue planet recycling" up here in BC where they seem tot be able to recycle all types of plastic, but they are open to corporations only(it sems).. I have yet to call them up about my boat load of medical device hard plastics with foam linings(eek) and stickers.. This industry has just recently caught my eye since a friend who once worked at a plastics production place informed me that all tey need is a wood chipper and a conveyor type track system to grind it up into pellets and then it gets sold for more than steel (per tonne) And sisnce they are in bead form they could be reused at the consumer level in 3d printers...