Where the machines are
Knowing the part is only half of it. The other half is which room, which curb, and whether you are allowed to take it. A thing on the curb on bulk-trash day is a different object from the same thing still inside a shop or a rental unit. Once a recycler has it in a cage, it is theirs.
A scrapped machine is a box of parts that failed at different times. The reason it was thrown out is often one bad piece. The motor, the cord, the supply, and the screws are frequently still good. This index says which is which.
| Place | What kind of place | Donors filed here |
|---|---|---|
| Junk drawer and cable box | In the house | 13 |
| Kitchen | In the house | 9 |
| Laundry and utility closet | In the house | 4 |
| Home office | In the house | 20 |
| Living room and entertainment stack | In the house | 14 |
| Garage and shed | In the house | 11 |
| Bathroom | In the house | 3 |
| Toy box | In the house | 3 |
| Bulk trash day | Curb | 39 |
| Move-out week | Curb | 7 |
| Office cleanout | Commercial | 19 |
| Repair-shop scrap | Commercial | 6 |
| Municipal e-waste drop-off | Civic | 1 |
| Thrift store | Retail | 11 |
| Remodel and construction dumpster | Curb | 8 |
| End-of-life vehicle | Yard | 1 |
In the house
Junk drawer and cable box
What you will find. Wall warts with the device long gone, USB leads, remotes, coin cells, dead mice, one flashlight, a bag of mystery screws.
How to behave. Label the brick with the voltage you measured before the stamp rubs off. A drawer of unlabeled 9 V and 12 V bricks is how the next project gets fried.
Typical donors here: Optical mouse, Router or modem, Webcam, Digital kitchen scale, Mobile phone, Infrared remote, Headphones, Wall adapter, Power strip, Flashlight, LED lamp, Digital camera, Electric toothbrush.
In the house
Kitchen
What you will find. Kettle, toaster, blender, coffee maker, scales, microwave, dead LED bulbs, the occasional speaker someone hid behind the flour.
How to behave. A heater or kettle that failed its insulation check does not go back into food service. Pull the parts and recycle the shell.
Typical donors here: Microwave oven, Dishwasher, Electric kettle, Blender, Toaster and toaster oven, Refrigerator, Digital kitchen scale, LED lamp, Photoelectric smoke alarm.
In the house
Laundry and utility closet
What you will find. Washer, dryer, dehumidifier, vacuum, the doorbell transformer near the panel, fluorescent shop tubes, a UPS nobody replaced the battery in.
How to behave. Large appliances are heavy and the refrigerant rule still applies. Kill the breaker before you pull a hardwired transformer.
Typical donors here: Washing machine, Clothes dryer, Photoelectric smoke alarm, Doorbell.
In the house
Home office
What you will find. The highest parts density in the house: PCs, drives, printers, routers, webcams, power strips, keyboards, a drawer of adapters.
How to behave. Wipe disks before they leave. A drive can be degaussed by its own magnet if you are not keeping the data — but do that on purpose, not by surprise.
Typical donors here: Desktop PC, Laptop, Hard disk drive, CD / DVD / Blu-ray drive, Inkjet printer, Laser printer, Flatbed scanner, Optical mouse, Keyboard, Router or modem, Webcam, LCD monitor, Cordless vacuum, Paper shredder, Mobile phone, Powered or Bluetooth speaker, Headphones, Wall adapter, Uninterruptible power supply, Power strip.
In the house
Living room and entertainment stack
What you will find. TVs, soundbars, DVD players, gamepads, set-top boxes, clock radios, the lamp with the failed bulb.
How to behave. Record the LCD panel model number before the boards go. That number is the difference between a free monitor and a sheet of glass.
Typical donors here: Set-top box or streamer, LCD television, Desk or box fan, Ultrasonic humidifier, Space heater, Infrared remote, Game controller, DVD or Blu-ray player, Clock radio or stereo, Powered or Bluetooth speaker, LED lamp, Doorbell, Digital camera, Alarm clock.
In the house
Garage and shed
What you will find. Cordless tools with one dead cell group, chargers, extension cords, fans, heaters, a treadmill, holiday lights, a car battery that 'might still be good'.
How to behave. Lithium packs do not hibernate in a hot shed. Sort cells, recycle the swollen ones, and do not pile chargers on flammable shelves.
Typical donors here: Desk or box fan, Window air conditioner, Space heater, Cordless drill, Flashlight, Fluorescent fixture, Solar garden light, Seasonal light string, Treadmill, E-scooter or hoverboard, Garage door opener.
In the house
Bathroom
What you will find. Electric toothbrush, shaver, hair dryer, the occasional blood-pressure monitor or digital thermometer.
How to behave. Water and mains already failed once in a hair dryer. Do not put that motor back into a bathroom project without thinking about where the drip goes.
Typical donors here: Hair dryer, Electric toothbrush, Blood-pressure monitor.
In the house
Toy box
What you will find. Brushed motors, gears, battery holders, speakers, the rare small solar cell, a drone with a punctured pack.
How to behave. Button cells and swollen drone packs come out first. Toy motors are unmarked; meter them instead of trusting the battery count that used to run them.
Typical donors here: Game controller, Headphones, Motorized toy.
Curb
Bulk trash day
What you will find. Printers, microwaves, vacuums, fans, CRT-era stereos, treadmills, desks with a computer still screwed in. The best motors and supplies show up here.
How to behave. Rules vary wildly. Some cities treat the curb as abandoned, some do not. Take only what is clearly set out as waste, do not open bags of household trash, and do not leave a mess of toner and glass for the crew.
Typical donors here: Desktop PC, Hard disk drive, CD / DVD / Blu-ray drive, Inkjet printer, Laser printer, Flatbed scanner, Keyboard, Set-top box or streamer, LCD monitor, LCD television, Microwave oven, Washing machine, Clothes dryer, Dishwasher, Electric kettle, Blender, Toaster and toaster oven, Hair dryer, Desk or box fan, Refrigerator, Window air conditioner, Ultrasonic humidifier, Space heater, Cordless vacuum, Paper shredder, DVD or Blu-ray player, Clock radio or stereo, Powered or Bluetooth speaker, Uninterruptible power supply, Cordless drill, Solar garden light, Seasonal light string, Photoelectric smoke alarm, Treadmill, E-scooter or hoverboard, Motorized toy, Blood-pressure monitor, Alarm clock, CRT television or monitor.
Curb
Move-out week
What you will find. Whole working-adjacent apartments of small appliances, lamps, routers, and cables. University streets at the end of term are a scheduled harvest.
How to behave. Same as bulk trash. If it is on a porch and not on the curb, it is not yours.
Typical donors here: Desktop PC, Laptop, Inkjet printer, Router or modem, LCD television, Microwave oven, Treadmill.
Commercial
Office cleanout
What you will find. PCs, monitors, docks, VoIP phones, barcode scanners, UPS units, chairs are useless, printers are not. Cash drawers and thermal printers show up when retail closes.
How to behave. Ask whoever is paying for the e-waste pickup. 'Can I pull drives and supplies before the pallet goes' is a normal question. Walking off with a pallet that was already sold to a recycler is theft.
Typical donors here: Desktop PC, Laptop, Hard disk drive, CD / DVD / Blu-ray drive, Inkjet printer, Laser printer, Flatbed scanner, Optical mouse, Keyboard, Router or modem, Set-top box or streamer, Webcam, Barcode scanner, LCD monitor, Paper shredder, Wall adapter, Uninterruptible power supply, Power strip, Fluorescent fixture.
Commercial
Repair-shop scrap
What you will find. Phones with good parts and bad boards, laptop hinges, tool packs, the bin of 'not worth a board'. The highest quality salvage, because someone already diagnosed it.
How to behave. Ask. Shops pay rent with some of that scrap and will say no to batteries. Offer to take the bulky plastic they hate (printers, fans) in exchange.
Typical donors here: Laptop, Hard disk drive, Cordless vacuum, Mobile phone, Cordless drill, E-scooter or hoverboard.
Civic
Municipal e-waste drop-off
What you will find. Everything, already concentrated. Also the place swollen batteries and smoke alarms are supposed to go.
How to behave. Most sites prohibit scavenging, for insurance reasons, once the item is in their cage. Harvest before you drop off, not after. Do not dump refrigerant appliances as if they were keyboards.
Typical donors here: CRT television or monitor.
Retail
Thrift store
What you will find. Stereos, fans, lamps, the occasional test equipment or tool. Prices sometimes exceed the silicon value of what is inside.
How to behave. Buy, do not dismantle in the aisle. Plug it in at the store if they allow it. A $8 amplifier with a good transformer is fair; a $40 'vintage' microwave is not a MOT source.
Typical donors here: Barcode scanner, Blender, Desk or box fan, Digital kitchen scale, Game controller, DVD or Blu-ray player, Clock radio or stereo, Digital camera, Motorized toy, Blood-pressure monitor, Alarm clock.
Curb
Remodel and construction dumpster
What you will find. Thermostats, doorbell transformers, ballasts, run capacitors from old AC, heaters, shop lighting, a lot of copper cable.
How to behave. Ask the crew. A dumpster on a job site is not bulk trash. Live circuits are still in the walls you are not touching.
Typical donors here: Washing machine, Dishwasher, Refrigerator, Window air conditioner, Fluorescent fixture, Solar garden light, Doorbell, Garage door opener.
Yard
End-of-life vehicle
What you will find. ISO relays, blower and window motors, wiper motors with a park switch, speakers, fuses, switches. The single richest 12 V parts bin.
How to behave. Use a yard that allows it, bring hand tools, and leave airbags, pretensioners, and orange high-voltage cables completely alone. Drain fuel parts are a fire problem, not a motor problem.
Typical donors here: End-of-life car.