How to Get Paid To Recycle Your Old Junk

Recycle old cars for parts and metal.

Few things are more delightful than getting use out of a product, such as a laptop computer or old clothing, and then recycling it for cash. Recycling benefits the environment in various ways. It saves energy, reduces the need for landfills and incineration, prevents pollution from products manufactured from virgin materials and conserves natural resources such as timber, water and minerals, to name just a few benefits. Benefiting financially from recycling your unwanted items is accomplished in a few simple steps.

Instructions

1. Decide what items you want to recycle. Potentially recyclable items include electronics (such as laptops, desktop computers, iPods and tablets), toner cartridges, clothes and junk cars.

2. Sell unwanted electronic items, such as Blu-ray players, calculators, camcorders, camera lenses, cell phones, laptops and desktops computers, where they will be passed on for others to use. Companies such as Gazelle and NextWorth buy old electronic equipment through their websites and resell or recycle the items to keep them out of landfills. Search for the item you'd like to trade on their websites, answer a few quick questions about its condition, and the companies respond with a cash offer for your item. Both of these services provide prepaid shipping labels; for some objects, Gazelle furnishes packaging materials.

3. Take old clothes to a local consignment shop. Check with the store first to determine whether you need to make an appointment to drop clothes off. Consignment stores provide contracts that designate a specific period -- approximately a month or two -- by which the clothes must be sold. When the time period ends, the store mails a check to you for the amount for which the clothes were sold minus the consignment store's cut. Unsold clothes are donated to charity.

4. Get cash for empty printer cartridges via recycling services such as TonerBuyer or Recycleplace. At the time of publication, TonerBuyer pays between 50 cents and $22 for each empty and used printer, copier and fax cartridge -- average prices are approximately $4 -- as well as shipping expenses. Payment is sent within 21 business days after the company receives your empty cartridges. It also offers to send payments overnight via a delivery service. Recycleplace buys laser and empty toner cartridge for between 25 cents and $4. You can ship to Recycleplace only when you have eight to 10 lasers or 30 inkjet cartridges available. It provides a prepaid UPS label for your use.

5. Drop your junker car off at a junkyard that buys parts for replacement in other cars, if your car still has usable parts. Compare prices at different junkyards for the best offer. If car parts are no longer usable, take the car to a scrap metal yard. Scrap metal yards salvage scrap metal by the pound and sell it to companies that manufacture new items with it. Several car disposal services are available at websites such as Junk My Car, Scrap My Junk Car and Car Disposal. At the Junk My Car website, old-car owners can get an offer online, and a towing company contacts them within 24 hours to set up an appointment for removal. The Scrap My Junk Car website typically pays up to $500 for junk cars, as of the time of publication, and removes cars within 48 hours. Get a quote by calling 877-647-5865.

Tips & Warnings

• Check whether a business is endorsed by the Better Business Bureau or other reputable consumer protection groups before giving items to it.

References

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Recycling; July 2011
• Gazelle
• Gazelle: Frequently Asked Questions -- How Does It Work?
• NewWorth: Trade In Anywhere
• TonerBuyer: Why Sell to TonerBuyer.com?
• Recycleplace: Earn for Returns

Resources

• Car Disposal.org: Getting Paid To Recycle Your Junk Car; 2011
• Junk My Car: How it Works
• Scrap My Junk Car: Frequently Asked Questions
• MSN Real Estate; The Slacker's Guide to Decluttering Your Home Before a Sale or Move; Melinda Fulmer