Most offices have a recycling routine down pat. Paper goes in one bin, bottles and cans in another. But here's the thing—there's a lot more recyclable material leaving your facility in the trash than you probably realize.

Every week, businesses across the Sacramento region send perfectly recyclable items straight to the landfill. Not because they don't care about recycling, but because they simply don't know these materials can be recycled. That's money in the dumpster and unnecessary weight on your waste bill.

Let's walk through five business items that commonly end up in the trash but absolutely belong in the recycling stream.

1. Recycling Old Electronics and Computer Equipment

That stack of outdated monitors in your storage closet? The drawer full of dead keyboards and mice? The server equipment you replaced three years ago but never got around to dealing with?

All of it can be recycled.

E-waste contains valuable recoverable materials—copper wiring, aluminum heat sinks, steel casings, and more. When these items sit in storage or end up in the dumpster, those materials go to waste.

There's also a compliance angle worth knowing. California law requires proper handling of electronic waste, and businesses that dispose of e-waste improperly can face penalties. Items containing circuit boards, batteries, or certain displays often can't legally go in standard trash. Professional recycling keeps you on the right side of those regulations while recovering the metals inside.

How Willis Recycling handles it: Our team picks up electronic equipment directly from your Sacramento-area location. We properly sort and process these items, recovering the metals and ensuring components are handled according to California's e-waste requirements. You don't need to disassemble anything or figure out what goes where—that's our job.

2. Metal Office Furniture and Fixtures

Filing cabinets. Metal shelving units. Old desks with steel frames. Those heavy-duty chairs with aluminum bases.

When offices upgrade their furniture, the old stuff usually ends up with a junk hauler headed for the landfill. But most commercial office furniture contains significant amounts of recyclable steel and aluminum.

A single four-drawer filing cabinet can weigh 100 pounds or more—mostly steel. That's weight you're paying to haul away as trash when it could be diverted to recycling.

How Willis Recycling handles it: We remove metal furniture on-site, including the heavy pieces your staff shouldn't be lifting. Steel filing cabinets, metal desks, shelving units—we'll load them up and make sure the metal gets recycled properly. You get the space back, and the materials stay out of the landfill.

3. Commercial HVAC Unit Recycling and Refrigerant Disposal

Replacing your heating and cooling system? Those old units contain substantial amounts of recyclable metal—copper tubing, aluminum fins, steel housings.

Many businesses assume their HVAC contractor handles disposal, but often these units just get hauled away without any material recovery. That's a missed opportunity.

There's also a regulatory requirement here. HVAC systems contain refrigerants that must be properly recovered before disposal—federal EPA regulations require certified handling to prevent these substances from releasing into the atmosphere. Professional recycling ensures this gets done right.

How Willis Recycling handles it: We accept HVAC units and can coordinate pickup when you're doing a system replacement. Our team handles the units properly, recovering the copper, aluminum, and steel components while ensuring refrigerants are managed according to environmental requirements.

4. Overflow Cardboard Beyond Your Baler Capacity

Yes, you already recycle cardboard. But what happens when you get a major shipment and suddenly have more boxes than your system can handle? Or when you're doing a major cleanout and cardboard is piling up faster than your regular pickup can manage?

That overflow often ends up compressed into your regular trash compactor, adding weight and cost to your waste bill.

For Sacramento-area warehouses and retailers, seasonal spikes can create real bottlenecks. Holiday inventory, new product launches, or facility reorganizations can overwhelm your normal recycling capacity fast.

How Willis Recycling handles it: We pick up cardboard bales and can handle overflow situations when your regular recycling program gets overwhelmed. If you're dealing with a warehouse cleanout, a major receiving period, or just accumulated cardboard that's taking over your dock, we can schedule a pickup to clear it out.

5. Miscellaneous Scrap Metal Hiding in Plain Sight

This is the category most businesses overlook entirely. Walk through your facility and you'll likely find:

These items accumulate in maintenance closets, storage rooms, and loading docks. Individually, they might not seem like much. Collectively, they add up—both in weight going to your dumpster and in recoverable value.

How Willis Recycling handles it: When we come out for a pickup, we can take mixed loads of scrap metal. Copper, brass, aluminum, steel—we sort it on our end. You don't need to separate every material type or figure out what's what. Just gather it up and we'll handle the rest.

What We Don't Handle

To set expectations clearly: Willis Recycling focuses on scrap metals, cardboard bales, e-waste, and related materials. We don't handle hazardous waste, chemicals, medical waste, or general trash. If you're unsure whether something qualifies, give us a call and we'll tell you straight—if we can take it, we'll explain how. If we can't, we'll point you toward the right option.

The 15-Minute Waste Audit

Here's a practical exercise: Take 15 minutes this week and walk through your facility with fresh eyes. Check these spots specifically:

Storage rooms and closets – Look for old equipment, spare parts, and items that have been "put aside" and forgotten.

Maintenance areas – Metal scraps from repairs, old fixtures, replaced parts.

Loading dock and receiving – Accumulated packaging materials, pallets with metal components, cardboard overflow.

IT storage – Old computers, monitors, cables, networking equipment.

Break rooms and common areas – Old appliances, metal furniture, fixtures being replaced.

You'll probably find at least a few items that could be diverted from your waste stream.

Why This Matters for Your Bottom Line

Dumpster service is typically charged by weight or volume. Every pound of recyclable metal or cardboard that goes into your trash compactor costs you money twice—once in hauling fees, and again in the lost opportunity to recover value from those materials.

Diverting heavy items like metal furniture, equipment, and accumulated scrap can noticeably reduce your waste weight. Some businesses find they can downsize their dumpster service or reduce pickup frequency once they're properly diverting recyclables.

For valuable materials like copper, brass, and aluminum, there's also potential for compensation. Willis Recycling provides fair, on-site evaluations based on current market rates for eligible materials.

The Challenge: Find One New Item This Month

Here's a simple challenge for your facility: Identify at least one item currently going to the trash that could be recycled instead.

Maybe it's that pile of old keyboards in IT storage. Maybe it's the metal shelving you've been meaning to get rid of. Maybe it's the copper wire scraps from your last electrical project.

Find one thing. That's it.

Once you start looking, you'll probably find more. Most businesses do.

Ready to clear space and capture value from materials you're currently throwing away? Contact Willis Recycling at (916) 271-2691 for a fair evaluation of your recyclable materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to sort different types of scrap metal before pickup?

No, you don't need to separate every material type. Willis Recycling handles sorting on our end. It's helpful if obviously different materials like copper wire and steel are kept apart, but we'll evaluate and sort mixed loads during pickup. Just gather what you have and our team takes care of the rest.

What's the minimum amount of material needed for a pickup?

For scheduled pickups in the Sacramento area, we typically work with loads around 500 pounds or more. However, if you're a regular client with consistent material streams, we can accommodate smaller recurring pickups. Contact us to discuss your specific situation and we'll find an arrangement that works.

How do I know if my old electronics contain recyclable materials?

Most commercial electronics contain recoverable metals—copper in wiring, aluminum in heat sinks, steel in casings. Computers, monitors, servers, networking equipment, and even smaller items like keyboards contain recyclable components. California law requires proper e-waste handling for many of these items. If you're unsure about specific items, send us photos and we'll let you know what we can accept.

Will recycling these items actually reduce my waste costs?

Diverting heavy materials like metal equipment, furniture, and accumulated scrap reduces the weight going into your dumpster. Since most commercial waste service is charged by weight or volume, removing these items can lower your hauling costs. Some businesses find they can reduce pickup frequency or downsize their container once they're properly diverting recyclables.

Does Willis Recycling provide documentation for recycled materials?

Yes, we provide itemized documentation showing what materials were collected and their weights. This paperwork can be used for your internal records, compliance documentation, or sustainability reporting. You'll receive transparent documentation of every pickup.

About Willis Recycling

Willis Recycling is a family-owned mobile recycling service based in Sacramento, serving Northern California businesses since 2017. With nearly two decades of combined industry experience, our team provides on-site scrap metal and cardboard pickup for construction contractors, warehouses, healthcare facilities, auto shops, and commercial operations throughout the Greater Sacramento region. We follow all California regulations for scrap handling, including ID-verified intake, and we're committed to making recycling convenient for businesses while maintaining full regulatory compliance and transparent pricing.

Cited Works

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Electronics Donation and Recycling

Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries — Scrap Specifications Circular

California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) — Metal Recycling

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Resources for Business

CalRecycle — Commercial Recycling Requirements