You would be surprised what gets repaired and used again in third world countries.

In article , NONONOmisc07
@fmguy.com says...

Is there any "market" for old electronics, even for free?

I actually found a recycler in driving distance who claims he will even
take my CRT tvs.

Maybe there's a market for recycled vacuum? ;-)

When I was a schoolboy in the UK back in the 1950s, local kids would
carry CRTs over a girder bridge across a town river in order to drop
them some distance to the water where they would implode.

I averted my eyes as I walked past (to school) in case one got cracked
on the girders while still being held by the child...

On 26/05/2021 09:34, Mike Coon wrote:
In article , NONONOmisc07
@fmguy.com says...

Is there any "market" for old electronics, even for free?

I actually found a recycler in driving distance who claims he will even
take my CRT tvs.

Maybe there's a market for recycled vacuum? ;-)

When I was a schoolboy in the UK back in the 1950s, local kids would
carry CRTs over a girder bridge across a town river in order to drop
them some distance to the water where they would implode.

I averted my eyes as I walked past (to school) in case one got cracked
on the girders while still being held by the child...

Was that part of a science lesson in those days? ;-)

On Tue, 25 May 2021 12:10:15 -0400, micky
wrote:

Vendors who sell electronics are required by law to accept e-waste for
free. It does not matter where it was bought or how old it is.

And do they actually recycle it? Take it apart and save resusable
minerals?

The official story is yes. There are companies that are approved for
collecting (from the vendors) and recycling. Here's how one of them
presents itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH0UH6fIiz8

(Don't worry about not understanding the Norwegian text. It is just as
pretentious as the video and music.)

But what happens to it? If they just put in a landfill, that would be
no better than here.

Over the years, there have been a few incidents where nosy journalists
have found hundreds of tons of Norwegian e-waste in remote African
villages. Let's hope that's no longer happening.

On Tue, 25 May 2021 02:33:30 +0100, wrote:

On Mon, 24 May 2021 20:59:49 -0400, micky
wrote:

Is there any "market" for old electronics, even for free?

Best Buy will recycle electronics. They charge $25 for any display
(no matter what the size) and everything else is free.

Take it to the skip for free.

On Tue, 25 May 2021 03:06:12 +0100, Rod Speed wrote:

micky wrote

Is there any "market" for old electronics, even for free?

Depends on what it is. Quite a decent market for early personal
computers and some more specialised stuff like SCSI cards etc.

I found a 70s Commodore Pet (8KB RAM) going for 3 grand!

I actually found a recycler in driving distance
who claims he will even take my CRT tvs.

That's certainly a bit dubious.

Why? Presumably they break it for materials, like with any electronics.

I know, except for some weird situation I won't
find, no one wants a CRT TV but what about....

A westell DSL modem Hub

None here, we have moved to VDSL2+ now.

We have fibre optics.

Might still be some demand there.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Westell-Wir...-/153433002888
still offered for $20 plus 9 shipping,
but does that mean anyone can use it?

They can if they still have a dsl service.

My wifi router.

Some do still use those as wifi access points to get more wifi access in
their house.

a router without wifi?

A few do still use those.

I virtually never use my wifi. It's only for the mobile phone, and only because I run science projects on it which would eat 4G data.

On Tue, 25 May 2021 04:41:42 +0100, micky wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Tue, 25 May 2021 12:06:12 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

micky wrote

Is there any "market" for old electronics, even for free?

Depends on what it is. Quite a decent market for early personal
computers and some more specialised stuff like SCSI cards etc.

I actually found a recycler in driving distance
who claims he will even take my CRT tvs.

That's certainly a bit dubious.

I know, except for some weird situation I won't
find, no one wants a CRT TV but what about....

A westell DSL modem Hub

None here, we have moved to VDSL2+ now.

Might still be some demand there.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Westell-Wir...-/153433002888
still offered for $20 plus 9 shipping,
but does that mean anyone can use it?

They can if they still have a dsl service.

My wifi router.

Some do still use those as wifi access points to get more wifi access in
their house.

a router without wifi?

A few do still use those.

(bought by mistake at a hamfest, when
I didn't notice it had no antenna. Otherwise
it looked just like the one I was using.

Thanks everyone. The guy who says he'll take the CRT tvs will also
thaek everything else electronic, AC or battery, and I'm going to use
what I find in this thread and decide how much other stuff to take to
him and how much to dispose of elsewhere.

A guy rang my doorbell a few weeks ago having spotted a few car batteries (well 1 car battery and 4 sealed ones from a UPS) lying at the side of my garage (17m from the pavement) and asked if I wanted rid of them. I think you can get a fiver each in bulk, I know someone pays £2 each to a local garage to take dead ones from there, and presumably he makes a profit.

I've arranged to borrow a pickup to deliver to him, and there's a
hamfest the Sunday before that where I can just give some of the lighter
stuff to any vendor who might want to sell it and keep what little he
gets money.

(One year I had my own "booth" (tarp) for two days at the Gaithersburg
hamfest, and I did pretty well. Over night, I just left evefrything
there, with prices marked and a couple things were sold, with the money
put under the tarp. Nothing expensive.

I guess IIUC UPS would wrap things for shipping if I sold on ebay, but
I'm not ready for that yet.

Has to be a fair price to bother with that. Ebay take 10%, then you pay shipping. If it's not going to make a profit, put it on freecycle, there will be someone who wants to play with old stuff, and you don't have to bother packing it, they come and collect it.

On Tue, 25 May 2021 17:15:14 -0700 (PDT), Tim R
wrote:

You would be surprised what gets repaired and used again in third world countries.

And 1st world, if you are willing to give it a go. ;-)

Daughter is currently enjoying a 40" Sony TFT TV that was about to be
thrown away for the cost of a capacitor. ;-)

I have a 23" Dell TFT monitor courtesy of my next door neighbour that
just needed a cheap SMPSU from China. ;-)

(I'm still working on the 12V 20A SMPS out of my 3D printer, awaiting
the switcher device). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

I have put stuff on "curb-alert" with Craig's List with 100% success - defined as *stuff gone within five (5) days*. This includes everything from old toilets & sinks to questionable electronics. Anything that has even a smidgen of residual appeal (to me) goes to Kutztown for the Buy-it-Now pile. The most amazing(ly awful) stuff gets a new home from that source.

But, I agree that for the most part, many things find their way to landfill due to very minor failures combined, the rarity of good repair options, and the cheapness of replacements.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 26 May 2021 09:34:42 +0100, Mike Coon
wrote:

In article , NONONOmisc07
says...

Is there any "market" for old electronics, even for free?

I actually found a recycler in driving distance who claims he will even
take my CRT tvs.

Maybe there's a market for recycled vacuum? ;-)

When I was a schoolboy in the UK back in the 1950s, local kids would
carry CRTs over a girder bridge across a town river in order to drop
them some distance to the water where they would implode.

I averted my eyes as I walked past (to school) in case one got cracked
on the girders while still being held by the child...

I would not litter but I have broken open a couple CRT tvs, one to see
the shadow screen (is that what it's called?) that color tvs had with
one hole for every 3 dots. The other was a 6 or 8" tv and I broke away
enough of the neck and adjoining glass to plant a plant in it. The
thing grew really well, and I wonder if the phosphorus was responsible.

No drainage at the screen end, so I had to be carfeful not to overwater.