Scrapping a mouse - what should I focus on?

Question

First of all, I would truly appreciate your help since I'm still a rookie when it comes to scrapping.

I stumble upon e-waste quite often which is the prime reason why have I decided to become a scrapper. Speaking of scrapping, my main goal is to fully use the potential of an object before throwing it away. I don't want to get rid of e-waste, without taking full advantage of it in the first place, which means I want my scrapping to be as profitable as possible.

Secondly, I would like to save some materials/objects which I can reuse later in DIY projects, or something like that.

In the end, I want to contribute to protecting the environment properly, as well.

Nevertheless, I know the theory - there is a variety of materials in different objects, such as gold, silver, copper, plastic, steel, aluminum - but things aren't that simple when you actually decide to scrap your first object.

Anyway, I have started to disassemble a mouse, but in order to recognize valuable parts - I need some advice. This is my very first object that I am taking apart, so I absolutely have no idea what is valuable - what materials should I accumulate with intention to sell it later when the price goes up; what can I reuse for DIY projects, etc. Simply, I need to know what is what.

Here is the mouse before scrapping

First step - strip the plastic parts

Then I came across a spacecraft. Where is the value here? What should I focus on (how to handle, how not to break)...What should I accumulate for the reasons mentioned above? What isn't worth accumulating (what should I sell right away), etc.

Definitely, lots of questions, but please - I would be so grateful if someone enlightened me.

Answer 1

Almost all of those components are reusable in a DIY electronics project.

Save these things for reuse, but make sure you have a good organization system thought out or you will never be able to find the thing you saved when you actually need it:

• Capacitors
• Buttons
• Encoder Wheel
• The 7 Pin Connector Set
• The 4 Pin Connector Set
• The USB Cable
• The Wiring
• Not pictured in your photo, but there should be an optical sensor on the bottom of the mouse that is used for tracking the position. That could be useful, but you need to find the datasheet for it.

It is not possible to tell from your picture whether the Integrated Circuit (The 22 pin Chip) is worth saving. Take the sticker off, and take a closer picture of it, or post all of the make model and serial number information you can find written on the chip.

The ABS parts can be recycled, or if you are into 3D printing, then consider making/buying a shredder for the plastic, and an extruder to make the ABS printing filament. There appear to be several choices for filament extrusion kits online, some off the shelf, some more DIY. This Article does a really good job of explaining the process, and has a list of extruders at the bottom.