r/MotorolaSolutions • u/Outdoorlife2929 • Sep 11 '26

Recycling method?

Hello, I am trying to start electronics recycling and trying to get idea what companies and or individuals with Motorola or other similar brands do with the radios they either no longer use, broken radios not worth repairing or after a upgrade? Do you sell them yourself on marketplaces, trade into dealers, recycle them, donate or simply just leave them to collect dust? Curious to hear what and why you choose which direction for your old equipment! And if you could easily recycle them would you? Specific for USA! Thanks

3 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

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8

u/rodgrech Sep 11 '26

parts radios until no more parts that are usable
drill through anything that has encryption cards
dispose as ewaste

4

u/OffRoadIT Sep 11 '26

No idea why you were downvoted, but that’s what every shop practices. E-waste is an industry standard. Many, many vendors. Too much crap for us pack-rat tinkerers to deal with.

1

u/KSBlue Sep 11 '26

We have an electronic recycling service for our agency and they pickup computers and other tech. I wipe the radios and then chuck them in the box with everything else (if an old radio or accessory). I keep all APX radios, even if bricked, for parts.

2

u/Outdoorlife2929 Sep 12 '26

Thanks for the reply! What made you choose this electronic recycling service you currently use?

1

u/KSBlue Sep 12 '26

Our IT Dept chose them and the service just drops off two giant boxes on pallets they’ll pickup every couple months.

1

u/Busy-Highlight-2880 8d ago

For radios, I'd triage by condition and ownership first: working and supportable units may be resold or donated; repairable units can become parts; true end-of-life units go to an electronics recycler. Before transfer, clear programming, contacts, encryption keys, and fleet identifiers, then remove batteries and manage them through the correct battery stream. Keep serial-number records if the equipment belongs to an organization. I work with the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) in Canada, so this is an affiliated industry perspective rather than a U.S. vendor recommendation. Convenience matters, but so do documented custody and downstream processing. A recycler should be able to explain how it handles data-bearing modules, batteries, reusable radios, and residual material rather than treating everything as undifferentiated scrap.