To Rinse or Not to Rinse Your Recyclables as well as what to do with your Electronic Disposal Needs

CompuCycle works with all sorts of businesses operating in different sectors and industries. We recently received a call from a big logistics company that puts a high value on recycling but was quite new to electronics recycling. We visited their facility and found that they had huge trash cans installed at a number of areas within their workspace for employees to put the recyclable waste in. These cans were properly marked for different materials, and instructions were written for how to rinse the recyclables before throwing them into the bins.

CompuCycle is an R2 certified electronics recycling service that endorses and supports the recycling of all types of materials. We were impressed with the system within the company as rinsing recyclables is something that is particularly important (in the case of single-stream recycling) but not quite common. It has always been a recycler's dilemma whether they should clean and wash their waste before sending it away for recycling. The answer to this question depends on your state and municipality and the recycling system they have. Single stream recycling faces challenges from unwashed waste as food and drinks residues can ruin paper recyclables. On the other hand, you can save water by opting not to rinse your recyclables if the state you live in has separate streams for different recyclable materials, as the heating process within the overall recycling process can burn away food residues. Although, it is best to dump any leftover food and scrap off your recyclables before throwing them in the recyclable bins.

The company had a load of redundant IT assets and electronic devices that they wanted us to recycle. We scheduled a day and time with them and reached the facility with our transportation trucks. We carefully packed all the recyclable electronics and brought them safely back to our facility. We started the electronic waste recycling process by testing the devices. We separated the electronics that could be refurbished to make work their primary, secondary, or more than one of their functionalities from the lot. We started refurbishing them while sending the rest of the devices for shredding.

The company's management wanted a few of their representatives to be present at the time of hard drive shredding, so we communicated the time of the process to them. The non-recyclable IT assets were shredded in our ultramodern, modern shredder while the video was displayed live on a screen for the company's representatives to see. After the devices were shredded, we separated the reusable material, like aluminum, copper, gold, silver, palladium, etc., from it and properly and responsibly disposed of the rest. The recyclable materials were sent for reuse in the production of other products.

After the reusable electronics were refurbished, we put them up for resale within our extensive network of buyers for refurbished electronics. These buyers are organizations and individuals that cannot afford new IT devices and electronics and can only access such technology through this system. The money we collected with the resale was given to the company along with proper documentation that endorsed that all the processes were carried out responsibly and in an environmentally friendly manner in accordance with the R2 regulations and standards.

The logistics company had worked with a few electronic recycling companies before us but was not satisfied with them as there was no transparency within their processes. CompuCycle is an R2 certified and specialized electronic recycling business that performs e-cycle electronic recycling in full compliance with the Responsible Recycling frameworks. Our new client was more than happy with our services and thanked us personally as well as in an email that is as follows,

"Dear Kelly and Clive, I thank you for your wonderful and expert services on behalf of my company. We always put a high value on recycling, but electronic scrap recycling had been an area we had always struggled with up until now (thanks to you and your marvelous team). Before reaching you, we had tried out more than one electronics recycling service but were left unsatisfied due to a lack of transparency within their processes. We have learned a lot from the experienced and professional personnel that represented your services and hope that we continue with the partnership for years to come."

CompuCycle is committed to transforming electronic recycling in Houston, TX, as well as in the whole US with responsible electronics recycling. Now that you know the answer to if you should rinse your recyclables or not, along with the correct

process of electronics recycling, we hope you will make your business cleaner and greener. For certified and responsible corporate electronic recycling in Texas or anywhere else across the country, get in touch with CompuCycle today.