What if some of the items your company has been throwing away could be sold for cash? There are many things that we throw out that could still be of value to someone. By finding people to sell this waste to, your company could make some extra income while also becoming more environmentally-friendly. Here are just five waste products that you could be converting into cash.

Electronic Appliances

Damaged and outdated machinery such as computer hardware and old telephones could be sold for cash. Many electronic appliances can be stripped for parts, making them valuable even if they are broken (in fact, many electronic appliances can contain small traces of gold and other precious materials). Sites like CNet list a few different places where you can sell electronics. It’s worth shopping around to see what the best price you can get is.

Scrap Wood

Wood is also something that you may not want to throw in a skip. Everything from old wooden beams to old wooden office desks can be sold as reclaimed wood. This could be used to build new products rather than having to chop down new trees, helping to reduce deforestation. There are lots of companies that you can sell wood to, which you can compare online. Some may be able to pick up the timber from you to save you the cost of delivery.

Scrap Metal

Manufacturing and construction companies can sometimes be left with a lot of scrap metal. This metal could still be very valuable – it can often be melted down and used to create other metal products. A good company will pay you for this scrap metal and will be able to collect it from you. Practically all types of metal can be recycled, but the most commonly recycled are aluminium, copper and steel.

Cooking Oil

If you run a restaurant or a food processing plant, it’s possible that your company may produce a lot of cooking oil as waste. This grease and tallow often ends up down the drain – but by doing this, you could be throwing money down the drain. A number of companies such as GF Commodities are able to recycle waste oil. This can then be reused in products such as animal feed and biodiesel. You can check company sites online to see exactly which oils they accept.

Empty Ink Cartridges

Empty ink cartridges can often get thrown away without a second thought. However, you may be able to recycle these empty ink cartridges for cash. There are companies out there that specialise in buying empty ink cartridges – these are sometimes sold back to the manufacturers or recycled for use in other products. Doing this prevents these cartridges from ending up in a landfill site, where they may be sitting for hundreds of years before they decompose.