Where to recycle loose computer parts (motherboards, mice, RAM)

Question

I have a large collection of loose computer parts from years worth of upgrades that I will never use again (are PC100 RAM and Sub 10 GB hard drives useful to anyone anymore?). All my local electronics recyclers will only take full computers and not loose parts. I'm planning on hunting down some extra cases so I can "build" computers to have recycled but there may be a limit to how much I can do this.

Does anyone have a trusted source to recycle these? I'm willing to pay to have them recycled and shipped because I want to make sure they don't end up in a landfill.

Answer 1

I typically throw extra items into a computer case that I have and bring it to Best Buy for recycling free of charge. At work we use a computer recycler that will take just about anything, but they are a strictly local company. Maybe there is someone like them in your area.

Answer 2

You might find someone who can use the parts if there is a Freecycle or Gumtree community in your area. Another option may be a local college, teaching centre or company if they run A+ Service Technician/Computer repair courses.

Answer 3

In Scotland (and I presume England and Wales), you should be able to take them to the local council coup ("recycling centre", "amenity site").

Also, in Europe, you should (in theory at least) be able to return them to the manufacturer for recycling at no cost if you're a private individual thanks to the WEEE Directive, although this is usually not as straight forwards as it sounds and may be impossible if the items were made by defunct companies. I'm also not sure what the status of stuff that was made before WEEE came in is.