Recycling can be super easy but sometimes you need put a little work into it to get the best amount of money. Computers must be taken apart down to each component and air conditioning units must be drained of fluid. If you break things down you can get more money and much better rates depending on what types of parts your items have. Some things contain a lot of copper like AC units and copper alone is worth more money then the aluminum that on the unit.
If you do plan on breaking down items to their base components you need to have some sort of organization. Save yourself the head ache of taking things apart just to sort the piles later by getting boxes or crates to separate as you dismantle. I found someone giving away 5 gallon buckets on Craigslist. They came with lids so if they aren't full or I'm not ready to go to the scrap yard I can stack the buckets nicely.
By making the effort you can turn a load of electronics from a $20 profit into a $150 without needing to spend any extra money, just time.
