Recycling centers in Philadelphia

eForce Recycling runs its main processing plant at 1229 South Napa Street in Philadelphia and has tracked pounds recycled since 2008. The plant shreds up to 2 million pounds of electronics a year and handles IT asset disposition, computer and electronics recycling, fluorescent bulb and ballast recycling, battery recycling, and office furniture and equipment decommissioning. eForce crews staff collection events for municipalities and a university, and its testimonials come from the City of Philadelphia sanitation department, Towamencin, Upper Merion, Marple, and Willistown townships, and the University of Pennsylvania. Accepted items include laptops, printers, telephones, microwaves, cell phones, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and small appliances. The plant is open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with online booking.

EMR's yard at 3057 N. 2nd Street buys ferrous and non-ferrous scrap, complete vehicles, auto batteries, and appliances. Drivers take ferrous loads to the scale and park by the orange cones for non-ferrous material, and sellers show government ID to get paid.

Family owned since 1975, Essington Avenue Used Auto Parts began when the owners bought Penn Del Auto Parts, a small business on a half-acre rented lot at 6750 Essington Avenue. Land purchases in 1982 and 1995 grew it into a salvage yard that now covers 15 acres, with more than 100,000 inventoried parts for cars and for light and heavy duty trucks, plus whole trucks. Vintage parts from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s sit alongside late model stock. The yard sells to shops and walk-in customers, delivers same day or next day, and backs mechanical and electrical parts with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Junk car sellers in Philadelphia, Allentown, Reading, and nearby areas get a firm price, transport to the lot, and cash on the spot. Used cars are sold on site too.

M. Dunn Recycling has bought scrap on Welsh Road in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia since 1932, just west of Frankford Avenue and close to Roosevelt Boulevard and I-95. J. Kairis Recycling owns the yard today. The yard buys nonferrous metal: number 1 and number 2 copper, red and yellow brass, bronze, aluminum cans and rims, stainless steel, nickel, monel, lead, lead batteries, radiators, electric motors and full computer towers. The test is a magnet; anything that sticks right away is not scrap the yard buys, though chrome-plated aluminum wheels are accepted at a lower price. Cast iron, glass, plastic bottles and catalytic converters are refused. Every seller shows a driver's license, state ID card or military ID. Commercial cleanouts and large jobs are welcome.

Nicholas Scrap Metal sits on a clean, concrete 2-acre yard in North Philadelphia and has bought scrap from the Tri-State area for more than 35 years. The family and locally owned yard buys ferrous metal such as light iron, heavy iron, and cast iron, plus aluminum, copper, brass, wire, stainless, lead, batteries, and catalytic converters. Customers drop off over certified truck and floor scales with visible weight indicators, and staff help sort and unload with ramps, docks, cranes, forklifts, and skid steers. Staff test a sample of unidentified metal to name the type and value. Businesses rent roll-off dumpsters for live pickup, switch-out, or long-term placement, or use dump hoppers, drums, skids, rolling bins, and Gaylord boxes. Spanish is spoken.

The Port Richmond center at 3901 Delaware Avenue takes oversized trash, recyclables, e-waste, mattresses, and tires from Philadelphia residents. Bring proof of city residency; the gate opens Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Southwest Philadelphia center sits at 3033 S. 63rd Street near Passyunk Avenue and serves city residents with unwrapped mattresses, tires (four per day), and solidified latex paint cans. The same address hosts a fall household hazardous waste event.

The Strawberry Mansion center on West Glenwood Avenue accepts household trash, appliances, electronics, and yard waste in paper bags from Philadelphia residents. Visitors show proof of residency and stay under a 6,000-pound vehicle weight.

This West Philadelphia center at 5100 Grays Avenue handles bulk items, Christmas trees, batteries, and fluorescent bulbs for city residents. Appliances and items with refrigerants are limited to two per day.