Computers are increasingly being produced with more plastic and less bulk metals such as aluminum, but there are still some valuable metals and other materials that can be scrapped. Don't be discouraged when a computer has an acrylic case instead of an aluminum shield; a few recycling points can give you a reason to keep on scrapping regardless of what you see on the outside.

Aluminum Sources Inside Desktop Units

The first myth to break--or at least clarify--is the idea that computers may have more plastic and less metal. The outer appearance is what causes the most problems, but there's still plenty of aluminum to be had.

Less aluminum may be involved with computer cases because plastics are lighter, but computers still need to be sturdy enough to deal with rough jobs, children, and people who are less than graceful with computers. A computer mounted on the floor, for example, could be kicked through with a pair of boots after a scare, frustrated situation, or just a slip of the foot.

Underneath the sometimes stylish computers is usually a thin sheet of aluminum, which is admittedly less than the old full metal computer cases of the 1990s. You can remove the plastic, but be sure to wear protective gloves in case of plastic tearing. Torn plastic or sudden scrapes across the corners of a computer case panel can leave a nasty gash against the skin.

Aluminum is also available inside the computer. Many components such as hard drives and optical drives (CD, DVD and Blu-Ray drives) have aluminum cases, and most computers have an aluminum heat sink block for cooling.

Be careful when removing heat sinks, as the fins used to distribute heat are often razor sharp. It doesn't take much to leave an annoying cut from simply dragging the skin against the edge of the heat sink fins.

Other Recyclable Materials In Computers

Copper, gold and magnets are the other popular scrapping choices, but the amounts vary. For gold, it may not be worth your time to scrap a single computer for its content, a the amount of gold on computer motherboards is too small for individual scrapping. Either scrap the motherboard as a whole unit or contribute to a larger pile of gold scrap if you plan on consistent scrapping in the future.

If you're looking for copper, don't put all of your effort into removing wires. The power supply has a large aluminum block wrapped with copper bands wrapped around it, which should get your effort first. It's safer to recycle the power supply as an entire unit because power supplies can keep a lethal charge of electricity for variable amounts of time depending on the capacity and brand. 

Hard drives with platters have rare earth magnets that are used to hold internal components together instead of using screws that can rattle out of place or break due to the small size needed. Keep in mind that newer hard drives using Solid State Data (SSD) technology do not have platters, meaning that SSDs should be scrapped as whole units.

Contact a team of scrap metal buyers to discuss current recycling payout rates and other materials in demand from computers.