It is a reasonable assumption to make. You paid thousands of dollars for that copier, or tens of thousands for that server rack, so surely it must be worth something significant when it comes time for recycling it. Unfortunately, the electronics recycling industry does not work that way, and the gap between what a device cost new and what it is worth at end of life can be shocking. At Recycle IT Utah, we work with businesses across Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, and Utah counties every day, and we want to help you understand why purchase price and recycling value are almost entirely disconnected.
The Price Tag Is Not the Scrap Tag
When an electronic device reaches end of life, its value shifts from what it can do to what it is made of. Recyclers evaluate equipment based on the recoverable metals and components inside, not the original engineering or the software that once ran on it. Devices like computers and smartphones command higher scrap prices due to concentrated precious metal content, while complex circuit boards from high-end electronics contain meaningful quantities of gold, silver, and copper. But most large office equipment is not dense with those metals. It is mostly steel, aluminum, plastic, and a handful of circuit boards, and that changes the math considerably. Ledoux & Co.
Electronics scrap prices in the United States range from around $0.03 per pound for standalone printers all the way up to $1.23 per pound for higher-grade components like motherboards. That enormous range is the key to understanding why a device’s purchase price tells you almost nothing about its recycling value. ScrapMonster
Copiers: Thousands to Buy, Pennies to Recycle
Commercial office copiers are one of the best examples of the purchase price versus scrap value disconnect. A mid-range commercial copier can cost a business anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000 new, and high-volume production machines can run significantly higher than that. Yet when that same machine reaches end of life, its recycling value is negligible.
Copiers and printers are largely plastic and carry zero scrap value on their own, and some recyclers charge a minimum fee simply to pick them up if they are not part of a larger equipment haul. Because there is so much plastic in these units, it often is not financially worthwhile for recyclers to pay anything for them as complete machines. The steel frame might bring a few dollars as shred, the copper wiring in the harnesses has some modest value, and any internal circuit boards could be worth separating out, but the overall return on a machine that cost thousands to lease or purchase is often measured in single digits.[1][2] Reworx RecyclingiScrap App
The reason is simple. Copiers are engineered around mechanical precision and imaging technology, not precious metal density. That engineering is what justified the purchase price. Once the machine can no longer function, none of that engineering translates into recyclable value.
Servers and Network Gear: A Similar Story
Enterprise servers and networking equipment present a slightly more nuanced picture, but the core dynamic is the same. A rack of servers that cost a company $50,000 or more to build out is not going to yield anything close to that at recycling time.
A server or high-end workstation that was top of the line two years ago might be outperformed by much cheaper models today, which significantly reduces both its resale and its recovery value. The value of networking equipment like switches and routers drops especially fast once the manufacturer ends support for that model, because security patches stop and enterprise buyers stop seeking them out for reuse.[3] Invgate
On the scrap side, servers do contain more recoverable materials than copiers. Circuit boards, RAM, processors, and copper wiring all have real market value when separated and sorted. But a complete server chassis, weighed as mixed e-scrap, is not going to return dollars-per-pound figures that make a dent in what the equipment originally cost. The steel enclosure, the plastic bezels, the fans, and the cabling all dilute the overall material value significantly.
Resale Is Possible, But Only Within a Window
There is one scenario where technology equipment can offset some of its original cost at end of life: resale. A functioning server from a recent generation, a current-model network switch, or a workstation with modern specs can sometimes find a second-life buyer. But that window closes fast.
Most computing equipment retains 40 to 60 percent of its value in the first two years, but drops below 20 percent by year four. Devices retired within three to four years retain the strongest resale value, and after year four, depreciation accelerates sharply, pushing nearly all devices into parts-only or scrap categories. EvertradeelectronicsHummingbirdinternational
The businesses that call us most often are not retiring two-year-old servers. They are clearing out storage rooms full of equipment that has been sitting unused for five, seven, or even ten years, waiting for the right moment to deal with it. Holding onto older equipment in hopes of a future price rebound usually backfires, as most IT assets continue to depreciate and rack up maintenance or storage costs in the meantime. By the time most businesses are ready to recycle, the resale market has moved on entirely. The hardware that once ran critical operations is now simply too outdated to compete with current technology on price or performance. Itamg
Why Recycling Still Matters Even Without Financial Return
Even when there is no meaningful dollar return at recycling time, responsible disposal still matters, and it matters a great deal. E-waste accounts for approximately 70 percent of toxic waste despite being only around 2 percent of landfill waste, and many old machines contain harmful metals and chemicals that can poison drinking water and air if improperly discarded. Servers in particular can contain chromium, beryllium, cadmium, mercury, and lead, all of which require careful handling.[4] Protecrecycling
Recycling also ensures that whatever recoverable materials do exist inside your old equipment get back into the supply chain properly, rather than ending up in a landfill or shipped overseas to unsafe processing operations.
At Recycle IT Utah, we offer free electronics recycling pickup for businesses and residents across Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, and Utah counties. We include a Certificate of Destruction with every pickup, and our hard drive destruction process follows NIST 800-88 physical destruction standards to ensure your data is permanently and completely unrecoverable.
Ready to Clear Out That Storage Room?
If you have old copiers, servers, network gear, computers, or any other electronics taking up space, do not let the assumption that they have no value stop you from recycling responsibly. Whether or not the equipment has any resale potential, we can help you get it out of your facility the right way.
Fill out our inquiry form here to schedule your potentially free pickup in Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, or Utah County.
Citations
- iScrap App. “Printers/Fax Machines Scrap Price.” iscrapapp.com/metals/printersfax-machines/
- Reworx Recycling. “Accepted Items.” reworxrecycling.org/accepted-items/
- InvGate. “Depreciation of IT Assets: Definition, Types & Calculation.” blog.invgate.com/depreciation-of-it-assets
- ITAD Company. “Recycle or Buy Used Dell EMC, PowerEdge, HPE Proliant Servers.” itad-company.com