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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Wingklip on Tue, 07 March 2017, 20:37:50

Title: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: Wingklip on Tue, 07 March 2017, 20:37:50
I've seen too many of these "found it at a recycling plant" or "rescued from the recycler", but where do you actually find reselling recycling stations in Sydney, Australia?

Trust me I have combed google and maps but found not a single tuing
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 07 March 2017, 21:57:15
you're looking for electronics recycling, not regular recycling
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: Wingklip on Tue, 07 March 2017, 23:17:33
you're looking for electronics recycling, not regular recycling

Indeed, but mostly I'm looking for places that give you or sell you stuff if I of there in person or online
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: chyros on Wed, 08 March 2017, 06:09:42
Try second-hand electronics shops.
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: merlin64 on Wed, 08 March 2017, 12:14:42
From my numerous adventures in keyboard thrifting, I can tell you that its getting very hard to find vintage keyboards. Though you are on the right track, used electronics recycling stores are your best bet.

Pro Tip: Bring gloves and hand sanitizer LOL.
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: Wingklip on Wed, 15 March 2017, 06:08:57
There's two shops I know but I need to find something just short of a garbage warehouse

Any websites from which I can buy some BEAM SHPRINGS from?
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: tp4tissue on Wed, 15 March 2017, 06:13:47
From my numerous adventures in keyboard thrifting, I can tell you that its getting very hard to find vintage keyboards. Though you are on the right track, used electronics recycling stores are your best bet.

Pro Tip: Bring gloves and hand sanitizer LOL.


yea man.. used keyboard in this day and age... /no thx.. hahahahahhaa
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: kishy on Wed, 15 March 2017, 08:09:41
I don't know about your specific region, but near me there's an established charity that refurbs older-but-not-obsolete computer hardware for low income families with government grant funding (so kids can do homework online and so on). That same charity also receives recycling funding to take in old hardware and other electronics for safe recycling, to keep it out of landfills. They host periodic "garage sales" to sell off any of the old stuff that might interest people. The amounts basically function as donations and are typically negligible.

If you can find something like that in your region, most likely they'd be happy to keep an eye out for certain "categories" of items if you build up a rapport with them. In my case they won't take a list or anything like that but they know I pop in from time to time for "old keyboards" and "vintage computers", so they don't toss those until the next time I've been by.

Mind you, there isn't a lot of that stuff still out in the wild so it doesn't show up very often anymore.
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: absyrd on Wed, 15 March 2017, 08:15:57
Look for specifically "METAL" and "E-cycling" places. They are the ones that get old computer stuff. Metal places often just cut all the cables and such and then send the rest of the electronics off somewhere.
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: Wingklip on Wed, 15 March 2017, 15:28:36
I don't know about your specific region, but near me there's an established charity that refurbs older-but-not-obsolete computer hardware for low income families with government grant funding (so kids can do homework online and so on). That same charity also receives recycling funding to take in old hardware and other electronics for safe recycling, to keep it out of landfills. They host periodic "garage sales" to sell off any of the old stuff that might interest people. The amounts basically function as donations and are typically negligible.

If you can find something like that in your region, most likely they'd be happy to keep an eye out for certain "categories" of items if you build up a rapport with them. In my case they won't take a list or anything like that but they know I pop in from time to time for "old keyboards" and "vintage computers", so they don't toss those until the next time I've been by.

Mind you, there isn't a lot of that stuff still out in the wild so it doesn't show up very often anymore.

I'm in sydney, specifically the "insert/outer west". Takes 20 minutes to the city lol.

I have tried searching for recycling plants but came up pretty dry before
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: kishy on Wed, 15 March 2017, 20:20:43
I'm in sydney, specifically the "insert/outer west". Takes 20 minutes to the city lol.

I have tried searching for recycling plants but came up pretty dry before

I just googled "sydney aus e-waste recycling" and found a number of options that may be worth contacting.
It does look like official/governmental operations will not let you take anything out once it has been recycled, but any third party provider might be willing to bend the rules.

You can also try posting wanted ads on local free classifieds pages (Craigslist, Kijiji or similar as appropriate to your area) and people may see the post before they recycle things to begin with.

Local school board IT departments may also have things stashed away, and the same goes for manufacturing plants. I've acquired a few older items of interest that came from a local tool and die shop. Specialized manufacturing equipment usually depends on special software which might only be suppored on certain older platforms, so you tend to see obsolete hardware in use in those settings. That's a possible opportunity to intercept it before it gets recycled, after they're done with it.
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: Wingklip on Wed, 15 March 2017, 23:43:55
I'm in sydney, specifically the "insert/outer west". Takes 20 minutes to the city lol.

I have tried searching for recycling plants but came up pretty dry before

I just googled "sydney aus e-waste recycling" and found a number of options that may be worth contacting.
It does look like official/governmental operations will not let you take anything out once it has been recycled, but any third party provider might be willing to bend the rules.

You can also try posting wanted ads on local free classifieds pages (Craigslist, Kijiji or similar as appropriate to your area) and people may see the post before they recycle things to begin with.

Local school board IT departments may also have things stashed away, and the same goes for manufacturing plants. I've acquired a few older items of interest that came from a local tool and die shop. Specialized manufacturing equipment usually depends on special software which might only be suppored on certain older platforms, so you tend to see obsolete hardware in use in those settings. That's a possible opportunity to intercept it before it gets recycled, after they're done with it.

There aren't too many workshops or factories in my area nearby. I just asked the University of New South Wales but they said they didn't have anything IBM quite to my chagrin hhnnnnnnnng. I will call up the 3rd parties and recycling companies though.

Btw do you have a spare beam spring you would sell me for a sum? That's really what I would like right now lol or maybe if someone could PM me a site where they still have some in stock ;)
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: kishy on Thu, 16 March 2017, 08:10:00
Btw do you have a spare beam spring you would sell me for a sum? That's really what I would like right now lol or maybe if someone could PM me a site where they still have some in stock ;)

Nope, I don't mess around with that stuff...
Title: Re: Recycling plant hunting locations help xd
Post by: Wingklip on Fri, 17 March 2017, 18:27:04
Btw do you have a spare beam spring you would sell me for a sum? That's really what I would like right now lol or maybe if someone could PM me a site where they still have some in stock ;)

Nope, I don't mess around with that stuff...

Rip xd. Know anyone who does?