Electronics: Reuse and Recycling in Southern California

by Deborah Orrill, CalMAX Coordinator

As new, smaller electronics flood the market, and as businesses continue to upgrade their equipment, a need for companies that accept old electronics is growing. Noting this upwardly mobile trend in computer and printer replacement, reuse businesses and scrap metal dealers have found a booming business.

Enter Buyers Consultation Services Inc. (BCS), located in Southern California in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. Developed to provide a number of services to business owners, BCS has been in the electronic recycling business for more than 12 years. The company began in 1988, then in 1993 BCS started using CalMAX as a networking tool and began to place a listing in the Wanted Materials section of the CalMAX catalog.

"Roughly speaking we divert over 1,000 tons per year from the landfill," said Jonathan Manhan, owner of BCS. Of that, approximately 200 tons have been diverted last year through referrals generated from CalMAX alone, and most of that came from one exchange source. On a regular basis, BCS receives 40,000 pounds every two weeks from one of their CalMAX sources. "But we are always looking for more sources," said Manhan. "In fact, one thing that has affected the market is the lack of precious metals in the newer computers. The older units had more gold and were, as a result, worth more when it came to scrap metal. That has been changing recently, so the value of the scrap is less. In some cases it's better to reuse the systems that we can."

Located only 20 miles from their CalMAX source, BCS has no trouble arranging for the collection of these scrap electronics. Other CalMAX exchanges generate approximately 10,000 pounds on the average. Materials generally acquired through CalMAX include electronics scrap, computers, and plastic scrap.

In a given month, BCS works with approximately 25 businesses a month, or 60 to 75 per quarter. "This is a business that is continually growing," said Manhan, "It's an opportunity for office managers and business owners to divert materials that are perpetually stored in closets or offices, and we pay them good money for these items because we can recycle and/or find reuse markets for them."

BCS has a staff of eight and owns and operates their own facility. Here they break down the systems for parts and scrap. With their 20,000-square-foot warehouse and 35,000-square-foot yard, BCS has the capability to load numerous containers simultaneously.

BCS is interested in a number of materials, including the following: old mainframe computers, personal computers, circuit boards, power supplies, cables, hard drives, tape drives, monitors, printers, keyboards, network equipment, and general business electronics. They export much of what they recover as scrap to China, Korea, the Philippines, and Pakistan by the container load. Approximately 10 percent of the electronics received go for reuse and remain in the U.S. Their Web site provides information on the materials they accept and other services, like the destruction of propriety parts for their clients.

For businesses that are looking for a vendor to recycle and reuse their old electronics, and keep them out of Southern California landfills, check out Buyers Consultation Services, Inc. in Canoga Park, California.

Buyers Consultation Services
8745 Remmet Avenue
Canoga Park, CA 91304
Toll free: (888) 286-7188
Local: (818) 341-4820
e-mail: mailto:bcsjm@scrapdr.com
http://www.scrapdr.com

Return to CalMAX Connections Articles

Last updated: August 01, 2008