Knowing what to recycle in ARC Raiders is one of the fastest ways to keep your stash tidy and your crafting bench stocked. Every raid fills your bag with scrap, spare parts, and ARC tech, and the Recycler turns all that clutter into the raw materials you need to build gear, weapons, and upgrades. This guide explains exactly what is worth scrapping, what you should keep or sell instead, and how to recycle without wasting valuable loot.
Recycling happens back at the surface hub of Speranza, so you never lose anything mid-raid. The trick is learning which items are genuinely junk and which are quietly worth more sold to a vendor or saved for a recipe. Below we break it down step by step.
What you need before recycling
- Access to your Workshop in Speranza, where the Recycler lives.
- A stash of loot brought back from a successful extraction.
- A rough idea of which recipes you are working toward, so you only scrap what you can spare.
How to decide what to recycle in ARC Raiders
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Step 1: Head to the Recycler in your Workshop
Recycling is done at the Workshop inside Speranza, the underground city that serves as your home base. Open the Workshop and you will find the Recycler alongside your Workbench. Drop items into it to break them down into base components. Because this only works at the hub, sort your bag here rather than dumping items during a raid.
The Recycler sits in your Workshop in Speranza, next to the Workbench. -
Step 2: Recycle low-value junk and clutter
The easiest call is trash loot — the bottles, springs, gears, tins, cables, rags, and broken odds and ends that sell for next to nothing. These items exist mainly to be broken down. Recycling them returns common materials such as metal pieces, plastics, and basic electronics, and clears precious stash space at the same time. If an item has a low sell price and no recipe use, scrap it.
Junk clutter is best converted into the base materials your crafts rely on. -
Step 3: Scrap spare gear, mods, and duplicates
Beyond raw junk, look at your surplus equipment. Duplicate common weapons, mods you will never fit (extra sights, grips, or magazines), worn-out low-tier gear, and excess gadgets are all good recycling candidates. Breaking down a spare weapon or attachment returns useful parts you can roll straight into a better build. Before you commit, glance at your recipes so you are not scrapping something you would rather equip.
Duplicates and gear you have outgrown are worth more as components. -
Step 4: Keep what is worth more sold or saved
Not everything belongs in the Recycler. Valuable ARC parts and rare loot usually fetch far more sold to a vendor than the handful of materials you would get from scrapping them. Hold on to quest and mission items, and never recycle materials that an active recipe needs. When in doubt, check an item's sell value and recipe usage before you break it down — selling or saving often beats scrapping.
Sell valuables and save quest or recipe items rather than scrapping them. -
Step 5: Recycle smart around your crafting goals
The best recyclers plan ahead. Look at the recipes you want to craft, see which materials you are short on, and recycle to fill those gaps rather than scrapping on impulse. Keep a small buffer of common materials, stack duplicates before a raid to free inventory slots, and sell rare ARC parts while scrapping only the common ones. A little planning keeps your stash lean and your Workbench ready.
Match your recycling to what your recipes actually need.
Quick recycling tips
- Sort at the hub, not mid-raid. You can only recycle in Speranza, so decide there with a clear view of your full stash.
- Check sell price first. If a vendor pays well for an item, selling usually beats the few materials you would recover.
- Protect recipe materials. Anything an active craft needs should stay in your stash until the recipe is done.
- Clear clutter often. Recycling junk regularly stops your limited stash from filling up with low-value items.
Troubleshooting
I recycled something I needed
Once an item is broken down it is gone, so build the habit of checking sell value and recipe usage before scrapping. Start with obvious junk and only recycle gear after confirming you have a spare.
I'm low on a specific material
Open the recipe that needs it, note the material, then recycle items known to yield that component — for example, breaking down metal junk for metal parts or electronics for circuitry.
My stash keeps filling up
Recycle low-value clutter every time you return from a raid. Stacking duplicates and scrapping trash is the simplest way to reclaim slots without losing anything important.
Frequently asked questions
What should you recycle in ARC Raiders?
Recycle low-value junk and clutter, duplicate common weapons, mods you will not use, worn-out gear, and surplus gadgets. These return base crafting materials and free up stash space.
What should you not recycle in ARC Raiders?
Avoid recycling high-value ARC parts and rare loot that sell well, quest and mission items, and any materials an active recipe needs. Sell or save those instead.
Where do you recycle items in ARC Raiders?
At the Recycler in your Workshop, located in the underground hub of Speranza. You can only recycle at the hub, not during a raid.
Is it better to sell or recycle in ARC Raiders?
It depends on the item. Junk and duplicates are usually better recycled for materials, while valuable ARC parts and rare loot are normally worth more sold to a vendor.
Can you get items back after recycling?
No. Recycling permanently breaks an item into materials, so always check its value and recipe use before scrapping.
Final thoughts
Recycling in ARC Raiders rewards a little discipline. Scrap the junk and the spares you will never touch, keep the valuables and quest items, and let your crafting recipes guide what you break down. Do that consistently and you will always have the materials to build and upgrade your kit before the next raid. For more on the game and its systems, see the official ARC Raiders website.
