Selling your WEEE as a private individual: what you can do
Yes, a private individual can sell their WEEE: old PCs, laptops, RAM sticks, processors or hard drives. On 15/11/2026, a complete computer is bought at €0.50/kg at the private-individual rate, and gold-plated memory at €40.00/kg. Some things, however, are not possible: being paid in cash, throwing a device out with household waste, or getting the business rate without a business profile.
Is a private individual allowed to sell their WEEE?
Yes. Your used equipment belongs to you: you can give it away, drop it at a collection point or sell it to an authorised treatment centre. At RECYNEW, a WEEELABEX-certified centre in Millonfosse (Nord, France), anyone can sell: private individuals, businesses, public bodies, associations and recyclers. There is no minimum quantity.
There is one limit: selling your own equipment remains an occasional act. If you buy equipment in order to resell it on a regular basis, you fall within the scope of a commercial activity (Article L121-1 of the French Commercial Code), and private-individual status no longer applies.
The stakes are real. According to ADEME (2023 data, published by INSEE), 845,000 tonnes of household WEEE were collected in France in 2023, or 12.4 kg per inhabitant. The collection rate stands at 47%, well short of the 65% target set by European Directive 2012/19/EU. Many devices are still sitting in drawers.
How much can a private individual's WEEE fetch?
The public prices in our price lists are precisely the private-individual rate, base tier. A few benchmarks on 15/11/2026:
| Equipment | Buyback price on 15/11/2026 |
|---|---|
| Complete computer (tower) | €0.50/kg |
| Complete laptop without battery | €1.05/kg |
| Complete laptop with battery | €0.98/kg |
| Grade A smartphone without battery | €3.00/kg |
| Recent mixed motherboards | €2.08/kg |
| Gold-plated RAM | €40.00/kg |
| Intel x86 ceramic processor | €317.50/kg |
| 2.5" 1 TB SSD | €22.50/unit |
As a rough guide, a complete 8 kg tower is worth €4.00 at the private-individual rate. Amounts are modest for a single device; they become worthwhile with sorted components (RAM, processors) or recent storage media sold by the unit. Every category is detailed in our buyback prices and the computer equipment price list.
What is not possible for a private individual?
- Being paid in cash. Cash payment is prohibited for the purchase of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, whatever the amount (Article L112-6 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). A buyer offering cash is not following the rules. RECYNEW pays by bank transfer.
- Throwing a device in the bin or on the street. Service-public.fr points out that WEEE must not go in household waste and that dumping on the public highway is punishable by a fine.
- Getting the business rate straight away. The price depends on your profile (private individual, business, recycler) and on quantity. A private individual starts at the base tier; prices rise for a pallet and again for a full lorry.
- Being paid before inspection. The firm price is confirmed after receipt, weighing and inspection of the equipment. Nothing is binding until you accept the purchase note.
Selling or dropping off for free: how to choose?
Both options are legal and complementary. According to Service-public.fr (page updated on 24 October 2025), any retailer with at least 400 m² of sales area for electrical equipment must take back, free of charge, a device whose external dimensions are all under 25 cm, with no purchase required. When you buy a new appliance, the shop also takes back the old one of the same type ("one for one" take-back, Article L541-10-8 of the French Environmental Code). Collection points and household waste recycling centres also accept WEEE.
| Situation | Best option |
|---|---|
| Small device with no material value (toaster, single charger) | Free drop-off in a shop or at a collection point |
| Large household appliance when buying a new one | "One for one" take-back by the retailer |
| PCs, laptops, electronic boards, RAM, processors | Sale to a treatment centre |
| Recent, working hard drives and SSDs | Sale by the unit, with secure erasure |
Our price lists cover IT and electronic equipment. For everything else, shop take-back and collection points remain the right solution.
How to sell your WEEE to RECYNEW as a private individual
- Create a free account to access your price list.
- Submit your buyback request: you receive a reference and a shipping slip to attach to the parcel.
- Ship the parcel to the Millonfosse warehouse. Shipping standard parcels is at your expense: group your devices to spread the postage cost. For a pallet, collection can be arranged.
- Track the request online: receipt, inspection, offer.
- Accept the purchase note: payment is sent by bank transfer. The accepted purchase note serves as proof of the transaction, with no invoice to issue.
Two tips to get more value: pack the equipment carefully (whole components are worth more) and, if the device has a removable battery, take it out. On 15/11/2026, a laptop without battery is bought at €1.05/kg versus €0.98/kg with battery, and shops that sell batteries must take them back free of charge (Service-public.fr).
What about personal data on the drives?
This is the first concern of private individuals, and rightly so: photos, documents, saved passwords. At RECYNEW, storage media are securely erased, or physically destroyed if they cannot be reused. You can also wipe your drives yourself before shipping. Answers to other practical questions are in our FAQ.
In summary
- A private individual can sell their own WEEE, with no minimum quantity.
- On 15/11/2026, private-individual rate: complete computer €0.50/kg, gold-plated RAM €40.00/kg, Intel x86 ceramic processor €317.50/kg.
- No cash: metal purchases are paid by bank transfer or cheque (Article L112-6 of the French Monetary and Financial Code).
- Small devices under 25 cm can be dropped off free of charge in shops of at least 400 m² (Service-public.fr).
- The firm price is set after inspection; nothing is binding until you agree.