Accepted materials
Read the second table before you plan the clear-out.
What we accept
| Material | What that covers | Basis | Minimum | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrous scrap | Steel, cast iron, structural offcuts, machine frames | Purchased | 1,000 lb | Priced against published market indices on the day we weigh it, not the day you called. |
| Non-ferrous scrap | Copper, aluminium, brass, stainless | Purchased | 200 lb | Sorted and weighed on arrival. You get the ticket with grades listed separately. |
| Obsolete IT equipment | Servers, desktops, laptops, network gear, monitors | No charge | 10 units | Collected and passed to qualified downstream partners. Read the limits section below before you plan around this. |
| Office furniture | Desks, chairs, filing, shelving, partitions | Service fee | Half a truckload | Charged because most of it costs more to move than it returns. Quoted after a site assessment. |
| Surplus industrial assets | Machinery, tooling, motors, drives, unused inventory | Purchased | Assessed individually | Valuation depends on resale potential rather than scrap weight, so these are quoted after we look. |
| Cable and wire | Insulated copper, data cable, harnesses | Purchased | 100 lb | Priced by recoverable copper content, which is lower than gross weight — we will show you the calculation. |
What we will not take
These are not preferences. EcoCycle holds no hazardous-waste permit and is not a certified electronics recycler, so these materials require a handler that we are not. Ask and we will name one.
- Hazardous waste of any kind
- We are not a hazardous-waste handler and hold no permit to be one. This includes solvents, paints, oils, chemicals, and anything bearing a hazard label.
- Batteries, lamps, and ballasts
- Lithium and lead-acid batteries, fluorescent tubes, and older ballasts require a permitted handler. We will give you the name of one; we will not take them.
- Refrigerant-bearing equipment
- Refrigerators, chillers, and air-conditioning units need certified refrigerant recovery before scrapping. Have that done first and we will take the metal afterwards.
- Medical or biohazard material
- Any item that has been in contact with clinical waste, regardless of how it has been cleaned.
- Sealed drums or unlabelled containers
- If we cannot see what is inside it, it does not go on the truck.
- Data-bearing media where certified destruction is required
- We are not a certified electronics recycler and do not issue certificates of data destruction. If your policy requires one, use a certified provider — see the note on our documentation page.
If something turns up on collection day
Our driver will leave it. That is not obstruction — putting an unlabelled drum or a lithium battery on a truck that is not permitted to carry it creates a problem for both of us. The manifest will record what was left and why.