Life Cycle SPC is a national precious metal refiner and receives shipments from the contiguous United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Life Cycle SPC is headquartered and operates its refining facility in Spokane, Washington.

Life Cycle SPC is a social purpose company out to make a difference, in fact doing good is in our DNA. When service and price are equal most of our customer say social good is the most important factor in determining who they do business with.

Purpose: Creates a material positive impact on society and the environment, taken as a whole. 

Accountability: Board of directors and officers must consider the effects on long-term environmental and social factors in action and operations.

Transparency:  Annual benefit report assessing the general public benefit

We are a Social Purpose Corporation with a commitment to making a difference in your local community and in the death care industry

It’s not uncommon to be asked this question. We all have heard how some companies claim that most of the money collected will go to charity, and then find out later that we were all mislead.

We operate from the principal that without integrity nothing works.

We write all of our checks out directly to the nonprofit charity/foundation and give the check, written to the organization of choice, to our recycling partners so you can present the donation personally. We aim at complete transparency!

Many dental refiners hire people to travel from office to office collecting and paying for dental scrap while in the office. When using this process the purchase price will be reduced due to the uncertainty of materials used and the true weight of the metal. If shipped to their location refiners will use a non-destructive method known as XRF testing. This gives them the ability for a quick turnaround from collection to payment; however when your mixed dental material is melted down and tested using the XRF method some of the precious metal will be concealed due to the composition of dental alloys used during manufacturing such as nickel, cobalt, chromium or beryllium. When using this method alone refiners are able to offer a quick turnaround for payment and can make an additional 20% more in profits.

 We recycle metals such as dental and orthopedic prosthetics, screws, pins, and casket hardware.

Your recycling is a viable tool that provides sustainable solutions to the economic challenges and needs of local people. Through recycling, your generosity benefits the charity of your choice, satisfying the underlying human need to contribute and make a difference.

Yes, your recycling really makes a difference by reducing the demand for raw materials. Mining today involves crushing vast amounts of rock, pile it up, and leach out the metal molecules with cyanide. The cyanide often leaks into the soil making its way into water supplies, lakes, and rivers. Pollution from mines can cause high levels of mercury or heavy metals in fish. The process of refining ore also causes pollution when going through a smelting process releasing large amounts of lead as well as nitrogen and sulfur, which are returned to the earth in the form of acid rain. Heavy metals and toxins can remain in soils for decades after mining, which leaves the areas unsuitable for use by humans and animals.

No, our services are absolutely free of charge and of no cost to you. On the contrary, our service helps to offset operating costs for our partners. We understand that recycling implants has a direct cost to you. In order help cover your overhead costs we will compensate you for dental implants at the same level we compensate dental offices who routinely recycle dental implants.

No, there is obligation to sign a contract. However, we will supply you with a service agreement which outlines our program and how we operate.

This is determined by the weight, and type of each metal collected.

We recommend insuring your packages and using the carrier of your choice, however USPS priority mail is preferred. Please request the “Delivery Signature Required” option when you ship. We can send you a service pack. Inside your service pack will be another envelope in which you can mail your dental scrap to us. You can then just drop it off at any USPS mailbox.

You can expect to have your check in hand approximately 1 to 2 weeks after delivery to our location. We will also trade refined precious metals for your scrap.

Yes, if you are the authorized agent legally entitled to control the disposition of human remains. Foreign objects such as implants are not burnt up and are removed from the cremated remains before pulverization. It is a common practice to dump these objects in trash containers as a way of disposal.

1. High noble alloys (Precious metal).
2. Noble alloys (Semiprecious metal).
3. Non-noble (Nonprecious metal)

Many factors determine the value of your dental scrap.

Types of materials used during the manufacturing process.

Spot Price: Gold Price is set twice daily in US dollars at 10:30 am and 3:00 pm each business day. Spot market prices change by the hour and by the exchange.

Testing methods

Many states have no guidelines. However, Washington State Department of Licensing Funeral and Cemetery Board as well as the Nation Funeral Directors Association have published clear guidelines for disposing or recycling of crematory metals. They recommend that proceeds from implants not consumed during the cremation process such as screws, hinges, prosthetic implants and dental implants are given back to the community. That’s where Lifecycle SPC comes into play.

Yes, cremated medical implants are considered “non-regulated solid waste.” EPA medical waste regulations DC 40 CFR part 259.38

Artificial body parts and implants may be removed or replaced during surgical procedures and autopsies. Such items such as artificial body parts, implants, and pacemakers are considered regulated medical waste when removed during a medical procedure or autopsy.

Items such as artificial body parts, pacemakers, and implants left over from the cremation process are considered “non regulated medical waste,” according to EPA under part 259 because they do not fall within a waste class under 259.30. Thus, such items are not subject to regulation under part 259 unless they are saturated and/or dripping with blood. (Class 3)

The non-regulated medical waste must be stored in a non-putrescent state, where vermin and insects are controlled. We will provide you with a storage container that will meet solid waste storage requirements. We will pick up or arrange shipping monthly or sooner if needed. Just call or email us if your storage container is full.