How is e-waste processed?

Collected loads are sorted and triaged, data-bearing items segregated, equipment dismantled, then materials shredded and separated by magnets, eddy currents and density before refining recovers the metals.

What materials are recovered from e-waste?

Copper, aluminium and steel in bulk, plus trace precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium from circuit boards, alongside separated plastics and glass.

Do businesses get paperwork for e-waste collections?

Yes. Business collections come with the documentation trail your duty of care needs, including what was collected, when, and the route it takes.

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The Complete Guide to E-Waste Recycling

What counts, what pays, how processing and metal recovery actually work — and the waste commitments behind every collection.

26 September 2026 · By OJ Metal Recycling

Start Here

What Counts as E-Waste?

The working rule is simple: if it has a plug, a battery or a circuit board, it is e-waste. Under the UK WEEE regulations that breaks down into familiar groups — large and small domestic appliances, IT and telecoms equipment, consumer electronics, lighting, electrical tools, toys and leisure gear, medical devices, monitoring instruments and display equipment. A dead laptop and a broken kettle are both e-waste; they just take very different routes afterwards, which is what the rest of this guide explains.

The single most useful thing to know up front: some e-waste pays you, and some costs you to dispose of. Get that distinction right and everything else follows.

What We Pay For — and What We Don't

This is the part most people get backwards. Memorise these two lists and you will never be surprised.

Computers & Laptops

Desktops, towers, workstations, business and domestic laptops — bought whole, with components graded inside. See e-waste prices.

Circuit boards bought for metal recovery

Boards & Components

Motherboards, RAM, CPUs, graphics cards, hard drive boards and telecoms boards. Leave components on — see selling circuit boards.

Phones, Drives & Cable

Smartphones and handsets, hard drives and SSDs, CAT and power cable, plus lead-acid batteries. All bought, all collected.

Disposal-only: TVs, monitors & similar screens

Old TVs, monitors and similar display equipment are never bought — they are hazardous waste that costs money to treat (leaded glass, mercury backlights), so they carry a disposal fee. Anyone offering to pay you for a CRT television is either confused or cutting corners. Full detail in the disposal section below.

From Kerb to Recovery

How E-Waste Processing Actually Works

Collected e-waste does not go into a hole, a furnace or a shipping container. It moves through a chain where each step exists to pull value out and keep hazards in. Here is the chain your load travels:

Collection & Triage

Loads are collected loose or palletised, then sorted on arrival: paying grades apart, disposal items apart, batteries and screens into their own streams from the start.

Data Segregation

Hard drives, SSDs and storage-bearing equipment flagged at booking are segregated immediately, so data-bearing items never travel the general route. Back up and wipe where possible first.

Dismantling

Whole units come apart by hand and bench: boards, drives, cable, batteries, motors and casings separated into clean streams. This manual step is where most of the value is captured.

Shredding & Separation

Remaining mixed material is shredded, then magnets pull the steel, eddy currents throw out the aluminium and copper, and density and optical sorting split what is left.

Refining & Recovery

Sorted metals go to smelters and refiners: copper and aluminium back to metal, precious traces recovered from board fractions, steel back into the loop.

Documented Trail

Every business load carries paperwork showing what was collected, when, and the compliant route it took — the backbone of your duty of care file.

What Gets Recovered

A computer is a small mine. Here is roughly where the value sits.

Copper

Wiring, motors, transformers, coils and board traces — the bulk earner in most loads by a distance.

Aluminium & steel

Heatsinks, cases, chassis, racks and brackets. Heavy, clean and endlessly recyclable.

Precious traces

Gold, silver and palladium in tiny amounts across fingers, pins and chips — worth real money once concentrated from board fractions.

Plastics & glass

Sorted housings and screens go to their own recovery streams — separated, never landfilled with the metals.

Our Standards

Waste Commitments on Every Load

Hazardous fractions isolated

Batteries, screens, capacitors, mercury lamps and CRT glass never travel general routes. Each hazardous stream goes to treatment built for it — never landfill, never mixed in.

Documented for duty of care

Businesses get a paperwork trail: what was collected, when, and the compliant route onwards. Your environmental file stays complete without chasing.

No dumping, no shortcuts

No fly-tipping, no mystery exports, no burning wire for copper. Material goes to licensed, appropriate treatment — and loads we cannot handle compliantly, we decline.

Paid items stay paid

Boards, laptops, drives and cable are graded and paid transparently with itemised breakdowns and bank transfer — the same standards as our weigh and pay service.

Disposal Items

TVs, Monitors & Batteries: Why the Rules Differ

Screens cost money to treat

CRT glass contains lead; older flat panels carry mercury backlights. Treatment is specialised and chargeable, which is exactly what the disposal fee covers. There is no version of this where an old TV pays you.

Batteries: lead pays, lithium needs care

Lead-acid batteries are bought and must travel upright and intact. Lithium, EV and swollen packs need specialist routes — call first with details. See battery values.

For Businesses

Commercial E-Waste: Offices, Schools & Server Rooms

Office desktop computers ready for e-waste collection

Network switches from an office IT clearance

Clearances that fit around work

IT refreshes, office moves, school clear-outs and server decommissions — loose or palletised, out of hours where needed, with repeat rounds for ongoing waste. See commercial collections.

Asset lists & paperwork

Send an asset list and get a documented collection with item counts for your records. Flag all storage devices up front so data-bearing kit takes the segregated route.

Before You Book

Preparing E-Waste for Collection

List what you have: PCs, laptops, screens, printers, cable, batteries — counts help us send the right vehicle.

Flag every hard drive and SSD, and back up and wipe where possible before we arrive.

Keep paying grades apart: boards, laptops, cable and phones separate from screens and general waste.

Photograph the pile with your postcode — the fastest route to an honest answer on value and suitability.

Batteries upright and intact; nothing leaking, swollen or heat-damaged without telling us first.

Palletise business loads where possible and confirm access, parking and loading for the van.

FAQs

E-Waste FAQs

What counts as e-waste?

Anything with a plug, battery or circuit board — computers, phones, servers, appliances, tools, lighting, toys and screens.

What e-waste do you pay for?

Circuit boards, laptops, PCs, hard drives, RAM, CPUs, cable, phones and batteries. See current e-waste prices.

Why is there a fee for TVs and monitors?

Old screens contain hazardous fractions like leaded glass and mercury backlights that cost money to treat. The fee covers compliant disposal.

What happens to my data on old drives?

Flag all drives before collection so they take the segregated, data-aware route. Back up and wipe where possible first.

How is e-waste actually processed?

Sorted and triaged, dismantled, then shredded with magnets, eddy currents and density sorting splitting the streams before smelters refine the metals.

Do businesses get paperwork?

Yes — business collections come with a documentation trail of what was collected, when, and the compliant route onwards.

Do you take lithium batteries?

They need specialist routes outside standard collection — call first with details so the right handling can be arranged.

Do you collect across West Yorkshire?

Yes — domestic and commercial e-waste in Leeds, Wakefield, Bradford, Huddersfield and surrounding areas.

Keep Reading

Selling Circuit BoardsWhat boards pay and how to sell.

E-Waste RecyclingCollections for homes and businesses.

All Blog ArticlesTips, prices and collection advice.

Got E-Waste to Shift?

Single laptops to server-room clearances — inventory, photos and postcode get you an honest answer fast.

Request a Collection Call 07793 020266

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