How do you know if scrap yards are doing what they say? How do you know that scrap yards will destroy the materials you need to care for? Well, talking to your scrap yard about the process, paperwork, and assurance your information is secure is essential.
Whatever types of scrap need to be recycled and documented have to go to the right person at the right scrap yard. Below are a few different scenarios, and there are different approach methods for each item that can help answer your questions.
Scrapping Electronics or E-Scrap
There are scrap yards and companies that pride themselves on their electronic recycling, but not all of these companies are capable of properly destroying Hard Drives, X-ray film, or other data-sensitive scrap that you are looking to destroy. Believe it or not, it is not always some companies’ priority to cash in for metals but to make sure that their information is completely gone for their own peace of mind.
Things have gotten really tough over the last few years, with more rules, regulations, shredding requirements, and even recycling restrictions really coming into play. A new program called R2 has been designed and implemented through many electronic recyclers, and it has become the gold standard for the electronic recycling industry.
New requirements for the recycling industry have been introduced for everything from hard drives to laptops, and figuring out the downstream methods has not been easy. Significantly, few scrap yards have gone through the entire R2 process because of the steps, difficulties, and implementation of the methods, which is so tricky.
Homeowners Should Get One Too
Suppose you are a homeowner scrapping your electronics, such as computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and others that may hold personal information. In that case, you should ask your scrap yard if they can provide you with a certificate of destruction. This will give you peace of mind that information like addresses, names, credit card information, and contacts are destroyed.
Old Inventory
We have talked to individuals who have done cleanouts for companies that eliminate all old inventories. They have seen and scrapped inventory for old lawn furniture, tripods for cameras, statues, stainless water bottles, jewelry, and consumer cooking items like pots and pans, and all of these items had to be destroyed. Some people have seen pictures we posted on Instagram, Facebook, or other social services and asked us why some stuff gets scrapped and not resold. Sometimes the answer is easy, and sometimes it is difficult.
Bulk Objects & Items Getting Scrapping
- Brand New Cars: Believe it or not, thousands of brand-new cars have been scrapped since the 1990s…why you may ask? No, not because the cars went out of style, but because storms have happened. Back in 2012, when Hurricane Sandy hit the NJ/NY area, thousands of brand-new cars in Port Newark had been delivered and were still waiting to be picked up and delivered to customers or car dealers. When the water washed through the car lots, all of these brand-new cars were flooded and eventually brought to scrap yards. There were reports that not even the emblems would be salvaged. The fluids were drained, the batteries removed and sent off to yards in the region. The piles of brand-new cars were stacked up and put through multiple shredder facilities.
- Kitchenware: Whether styles change, coatings are made differently, or there is a product recall, we have heard many stories about kitchen items being scrapped, such as silverware or pots and pans.
Actual Destruction Certificates
These pieces of paper are critical and vital for insurance purposes when scrapping certain items. They can vary slightly in wording, but they can all be summed up easily:
“Your material will be destroyed and recycled for reclamation of metals only.”
This is the basic idea, but it is what so many companies want to see, and some jobs you may get or are given will require this to get the scrap into the door.
Many scrap yards are registered scrap yards, but many are still very “old school” in the sense of reselling things that come in scrap, and that may prove to be a problem if you are looking to do things correctly long-term.
Ask your local yard if they have a preview of their certificate or how they can ensure that your material is destroyed. Some yards may provide pictures, videos, or other media on top of the certificate. In the world that we live in, with computers and technology being so widespread and it being easy to move information, you have to be alert and be able to cover your assets quickly and responsibly.
