MICROSCRAPPINGE-waste field guide

Copper in electronic waste

70 components in this guide contain copper. Spot price as of 4 Aug 2026: $4.85 per lb.

Richest sources by weight

ComponentCopper per lbValue per lbTier
Beryllium copper contacts ☣440 g$4.70C
CPU heat spreaders & heatsinks400 g$4.28D
Pogo Pins & Spring-Loaded Test Probes330 g$3.53S
Insulated copper wire280 g$2.99C
Machined-pin DIP sockets (gold barrel)250 g$2.67B
Klystrons & Travelling-Wave Tubes250 g$2.67C
CRT flyback transformers & deflection yokes ☠250 g$2.67D
Magnetron ☣☣250 g$2.67D
Silver-Plated Copper Wire & Coax230 g$2.46B
Automotive wiring harness227 g$2.43C
Hybrid / EV traction inverter ⚡200 g$2.14C
RF Coaxial Connectors (SMA/N/BNC/TNC)190 g$2.03B

These are yields per pound of that material, not per pound of whatever it came out of. That distinction is the single most common source of inflated figures online.

Everything containing copper

Pogo Pins & Spring-Loaded Test Probes Contacts & relays · $200–500/lb Au 1.4–3.0 g/lbCu ~330 g/lbBase steel springs S Silver-Graphite Brushes & Slip Rings Contacts & relays · $150–400/lb Ag 40–95% by weightCu pigtail + commutator segmentsBase electrographite S Aerospace Connectors & Backshells Contacts & relays · $25–70/lb Au 0.3–0.8 g/lb complete; ~3.6 g/lb de-populated contactsCu ~80 g/lbBase Backshells: ~0 g Au/lb A Cell phone boards Boards · $25–40/lb Au 0.09–0.50 g/lbAg 0.23–1.26 g/lbPd 0.025–0.07 g/lbCu 12–56% A IC Test, Burn-In & ZIF Sockets Contacts & relays · $15–60/lb Au 0.5–2 g/lb complete; 3–8 g/lb de-populated contactsCu ~60 g/lbPd Pd-Ni with gold flash on high-cycle sockets A Mil Circular Connectors (D38999/MS) Contacts & relays · $25–60/lb Au 0.20–0.50 g/lb whole; 2.5–4.0 g/lb de-pinned contactsCu ~80 g/lbBase 70–85% Al 6061-T6 shell A Telecom / military boards Boards · $11–35/lb Au 0.3–4 g/lbAg 1–8 g/lbPd 0.02–0.3 g/lbCu 15–25% A Telecom backplanes Boards · $10–18/lb Au 1–3 g/lb wholeAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 20–30% A Card sockets — PCMCIA, CF, SD, SIM Contacts & relays · $60–250/lb Au 0.8–2.5 g/lbCu ~150 g/lb B Hard drive PCBs Drives & media · $15–45/lb Au 0.3–0.8 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 15–25% B IBM Multi-Chip / Thermal Conduction Modules Processors · $36–115/lb Au 1–5 g per module ≈ 0.3–0.7 g/lbCu ~48 g/lbBase Mo internal wiring B Laptop motherboards Boards · $10–18/lb Au 0.20–0.50 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbPd 0.02–0.08 g/lbCu 15–25% B Machined-pin DIP sockets (gold barrel) Contacts & relays · $120–300/lb Au 1.0–2.4 g/lbCu ~250 g/lb B Plastic CPU with gold pins (P4, Athlon, S370/462/478) Processors · $30–90/lb Au 0.5–1.0 g/lbAg trace–0.3 g/lbCu IHS on P4 B RF Coaxial Connectors (SMA/N/BNC/TNC) Connectors & pins · $15–35/lb Au 0.10–0.40 g/lb (SMA); 0.01–0.05 g/lb (N/BNC)Cu ~190 g/lbAg trace B Server motherboards Boards · $9–16/lb Au 0.05–0.3 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbPd 0.02–0.10 g/lbCu 15–25% B Silver-Plated Copper Wire & Coax Connectors & pins · $8–25/lb Ag 2.8–6.8 g/lb as-received; 5.7–11.3 g/lb stripped conductorCu ~230 g/lbBase 40–55% PTFE/FEP B Wire-wrap / pin boards Boards · $20–35/lb Au 0.6–1.5 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 20–30% B ECU ABS, transmission & body control modules Automotive · $3–8/lb Au 0.010–0.030 g per moduleAg 0.2–1.5 g in BCM relay contactsCu 40–120 g in the ABS pump motorBase 1.5–3 lb aluminium hydraulic block C Arcade PCBs / JAMMA Boards Boards · $30–800/lb Au 0.05–0.20 g per board ≈ 0.09 g/lbCu ~45 g/lbAu ceramic gold-lid customs (FD1094 C 12V 30A Automotive relays & fuse boxes Automotive · $3–10/lb Ag 25–80 mg per mini ISO relayCu 1–3 g coil + terminals per relay C Automotive wiring harness Automotive · $1.5–3/lb Cu 48–52% recovery stripped; ~35% as-pulledAu under 0.1 g per whole vehicle C Backup batteries & Dallas RTC modules ☠ ICs & chips · $50–800/lb Cu ~40 g/lbAu <0.1 g/lb C Beryllium copper contacts ☣ Contacts & relays · $6–15/lb Au 0.5–1.5 g/lb when platedCu ~98% C Card-Edge Receptacles & Sockets Contacts & relays · $20–60/lb Au 0.15–0.50 g/lb for genuine gold-contact socketsCu ~130 g/lbBase 55–70% PBT/LCP/nylon C DC-DC converter bricks & isolation modules Other · $40–400/lb Au 0.08–0.3 g/lbAg 1–4 g/lbCu ~90 g/lb C Desktop motherboards Boards · $5–12/lb Au 0.02–0.15 g/lbAg 0.6–2 g/lbPd 0.01–0.05 g/lbCu 15–20% C ECU ECU / engine control module Automotive · $3–8/lb Au 0.11 g/lb of bare boardAg 0.45 g/lbPd 0.05 g/lbCu ~20% of board mass C Enterprise Switches, Line Cards & Optics Boards · $3–200/lb Au 0.15–0.6 g per large line card ≈ 0.075 g/lbCu ~70 g/lbBase chassis backplane C EV / hybrid battery management boards Automotive · $5–15/lb Au 0.01–0.05 g per master boardAg ~0.1 g per master boardCu 10–50 g busbar traces per cell-tap board C Gold-fingered cards (untrimmed) Boards · $10–20/lb Au 0.2–0.5 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 15–25% C Graphics cards ⚠ Boards · $8–14/lb Au 0.20–0.50 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbCu 15–25% C HDD head arms & actuator assemblies Drives & media · $15–40/lb Au 0.1–0.3 g/lbNd NdFeB magnetsCu voice coil C HV Hybrid / EV traction inverter ⚡ Automotive · $8–20/lb Cu 3–8 kg per inverterAg 0.5–3 g sinter per power stageAu 0.02–0.08 g on gate-driver boardsBase 5–15 kg aluminium housing C Industrial Control Boards (PLC/DCS/SCADA) Boards · $3–12/lb Au 0.05–0.20 g/lb typical I/O; 0.25–0.60 g/lb CPU and backplanes; 0.6–1.5 g/lb 1970s–80s ceramic-DIP DCSAg 1–8 g per relay moduleCu ~113 g/lb C NAV Instrument clusters & head units Automotive · $3–12/lb Au 0.008–0.100 g per unitAg 0.2–0.6 g in a premium head unitPd 0.02–0.06 g in a premium head unitCu 20–500 g C Insulated copper wire Other · $1–2/lb Cu 45–78% recovery by grade C Klystrons & Travelling-Wave Tubes RF, power & vintage · $3–40/lb Cu ~250 g/lb (0.35–0.75 lb Cu per lb of tube)Au ~0.5–4 g per tubeAg 2–30 g per tube C i7 Modern lidded CPU (LGA775+, Core i, Ryzen) Processors · $11–24/lb Au 0.10–0.30 g/lbCu 15–25 g per chip C Peripheral & network cards Boards · $8–15/lb Au 0.20–0.50 g/lbAg 0.5–1.5 g/lbCu 15–25% C Silver mica capacitors Capacitors · $80–500/lb Ag 10–20 g/lbCu ~60 g/lb C D2S Xenon HID ballasts & LED drivers Automotive · $2–6/lb Au 0.003–0.015 g per ballastCu 30–90 g in the HV transformer and inductorsAg trace in thick-film and solder C Bridge rectifiers and power diodes Other · $20–80/lb Cu 140–240 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbAu ~0.02 g/lb D Carbon and metal film resistors Other · $8–25/lb Cu ~15 g/lb D MHz Ceramic HRC fuses (and glass fuses) Other · $25–80/lb Ag 1–3 g/lbCu ~90 g/lb D Clip-on and bolt-on board heatsinks Other · $5–25/lb Cu 0–450 g/lb D Console Game Cartridges Boards · $10–150/lb Au 0.003–0.015 g per cartridge ≈ 0.04 g/lb wholeAu 0.6–0.9 g/lb of trimmed fingersCu negligible D CPU heat spreaders & heatsinks Other · $3–5/lb Cu 85–99% on copper IHSBase Ni plating D CRT flyback transformers & deflection yokes ☠ RF, power & vintage · $0.5–1.5/lb Cu 150–400 g per yokeBase ferrite core D EMI shield cans and fences Other · $3–10/lb Cu 150–290 g/lb D Film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene) Capacitors · $10–40/lb Cu ~20 g/lb D Gold-Plated Flex Circuits (FFC/FPC/ZIF) Contacts & relays · $10–40/lb Au 0.05–0.15 g/lb of cableCu ~100 g/lbBase 60–80% polyimide/PET + acrylic D LCD Panels (ITO / CCFL vs LED) Other · $0–8/lb Base Indium ~0.4–0.8 g/m² of ITO layerAu 0.01–0.08 g per panel in COF tape bumpsCu ~17 g/lb D LEDs (through-hole and power SMD) Other · $20–90/lb Au 0.02–0.08 g/lbAg 2–7 g/lbCu ~100 g/lb D Low-grade boards (PSU, TV, modem, appliance) Boards · $2–4/lb Au 0.005–0.05 g/lbAg 0.2–0.8 g/lbCu 8–15% D ☣ Magnetron ☣☣ RF, power & vintage · $1–4/lb Ag 0.5–2 g per magnetronCu 200–400 g per unitBase ferrite magnets D Optical Drives & Laser Pickups Drives & media · $3–60/lb Au 0.01–0.03 g per drive ≈ 0.011 g/lbCu ~16 g/lbBase Al 200–400 g D Optocouplers / optoisolators ICs & chips · $40–200/lb Au 0.1–0.35 g/lbAg 2–5 g/lbCu ~120 g/lb D Oxygen / lambda sensors Automotive · $2–5/lb Pt 13 mg per sensor (≈0.05 g/lb)Cu 8–20 g in the leadBase steel body D Power supplies Other · $1–2/lb Au 0.005–0.03 g/lbCu 30–60 g per transformerAg in the relay D Reed Switches & Reed Relays Contacts & relays · $5–20/lb Base Ru ~50–80 µg per switchBase Rh ~0.2–0.5 mg per switchCu ~40 g/lb D Ribbon cable & IDC connectors Connectors & pins · $2–6/lb Au 0.3–0.8 g/lb (heads only)Cu 15–25% in the cable D RJ45 Jacks with Integrated Magnetics Contacts & relays · $8–20/lb Au 0.02–0.07 g/lbCu ~57 g/lbBase ferrite D Set-top / cable boxes Boards · $1–3/lb Au 0.03–0.10 g/lbAg 0.3–1 g/lbCu 10–15% D Tactile switches and metal dome contacts Contacts & relays · $20–70/lb Au 0.05–0.4 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbCu ~60 g/lb D Tape Drives & Libraries (LTO/DLT/DAT) Drives & media · $5–500/lb Au 0.05–0.20 g per LTO drive ≈ 0.03 g/lbCu ~10 g/lbBase 0.7–1.8 kg aluminium per full-height drive D Terminal blocks and screw terminals Contacts & relays · $15–50/lb Cu 110–200 g/lb D ☣ Transformers, inductors, chokes & toroids Other · $15–60/lb Cu 100–220 g/lb D USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, RJ45 & audio jacks Contacts & relays · $15–60/lb Au 0.1–0.5 g/lbCu ~80 g/lb D Vintage Home Computers & Boards Boards · $80–350/lb Au 0.05–0.20 g per C64 board; 0.1–0.4 g per Apple II boardAu gold-lid ceramic DIPs at $150–400/lbCu ~40 g/lb D