Rust Recycler Calculator
Recycler
Add items
Components
Raid items
Doors
| Item | Qty | One item gives | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tech Trash | 20 scrap, 1 HQM | ||
| Gears | 10 scrap, 12 + 50% chance of 1 metal fragments | ||
| Metal Pipe | 5 scrap, 1 HQM |
You get (average)
- Metal fragments
- 125
- HQM
- 15
- Scrap
- 325
Same items at every recycler
| Recycler | Metal fragments | HQM | Scrap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe zone (yellow) 40% | 100 | 12 | 260 |
| Green, unpowered 50% | 125 | 15 | 325 |
| Green, powered 60% | 150 | 18 | 390 |
| Red, Power Plant 75% | 188 | 23 | 488 |
Averages for undamaged items. A fraction is a chance at one more each time, so a big stack lands close to the average and a single item doesn't.
How to use it
- Pick the recycler you're using: safe zone (Outpost, Bandit Camp), a green one at a monument, a powered green one, or the red one at the Power Plant.
- Tap the items you're recycling and set how many.
- Read the average output, and compare what the same items would give at the other recyclers. Copy the link to share the list.
The four recyclers
| Recycler | Where | Returns | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe zone (yellow) | Outpost, Bandit Camp | 40% | 8 s |
| Green, unpowered | Monuments outside safe zones | 50% | 5 s |
| Green, powered | Monuments, with enough Power Plant power | 60% | 5 s (4.5 s at max power) |
| Red, Power Plant | Power Plant, at maximum power | 75% | Not published |
Safe zone recyclers were cut to 80% of their old output with 8-second cycles in May 2024 (Meta Madness), which is the 40% they run at now. Power Trip (6 August 2026) dropped the green recyclers outside safe zones from 60% to a 50% baseline, back to 60% when the Power Plant has enough power, and added the red 75% recycler at the Power Plant. Recycle charts made before August 2026 show 60% for every monument recycler; an unpowered one now gives a sixth less than that.
Each item has a fixed output at 100%. A recycler pays that times its rate, and a fraction is a chance at one more: a rifle body is 3 HQM at 100%, so at 50% you get 1 HQM plus a 50% chance of a second.
Sources: Facepunch, Power Trip update: recyclers and high wall upkeep (6 Aug 2026); Facepunch, Meta Madness update: recycler changes (2 May 2024); Facepunch Rust wiki: Recycler; Facepunch Rust wiki: Safe Zone Recycler.
Rust recycle chart
What one item gives at a green recycler (50%), with the scrap at every recycler.
| Item | Scrap | Metal fragments | HQM | Cloth | Tech trash | Scrap 40 / 60 / 75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tech Trash | 20 | - | 1 | - | - | 16 / 24 / 30 |
| Rifle Body | 25 | - | 1.5 | - | - | 20 / 30 / 37.5 |
| Semi Automatic Body | 15 | 75 | 1.5 | - | - | 12 / 18 / 22.5 |
| SMG Body | 15 | - | 1.5 | - | - | 12 / 18 / 22.5 |
| Electric Fuse | 20 | - | - | - | - | 16 / 24 / 30 |
| Gears | 10 | 12.5 | - | - | - | 8 / 12 / 15 |
| Metal Spring | 10 | - | 1 | - | - | 8 / 12 / 15 |
| Sheet Metal | 8 | 100 | 1 | - | - | 6.4 / 9.6 / 12 |
| Metal Pipe | 5 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 / 6 / 7.5 |
| Road Signs | 5 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 / 6 / 7.5 |
| Metal Blade | 2 | 15 | - | - | - | 1.6 / 2.4 / 3 |
| Empty Propane Tank | 1 | 50 | - | - | - | 0.8 / 1.2 / 1.5 |
| Targeting Computer | - | 50 | 1 | - | 2.5 | - |
| CCTV Camera | - | - | 1.5 | - | 1.5 | - |
| Tarp | - | - | - | 50 | - | - |
| Rope | - | - | - | 15 | - | - |
| Sewing Kit | - | - | - | 10 | - | - |
| Duct Tape | - | - | - | 2.5 | - | - |
| Empty Can Of Beans | - | 10 | - | - | - | - |
| Empty Tuna Can | - | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Timed Explosive Charge (C4) | - | - | - | 2.5 | 1 | - |
| Beancan Grenade | - | 10 | - | - | - | - |
| Garage Door | - | 150 | - | - | - | - |
| Sheet Metal Door | - | 75 | - | - | - | - |
| Armored Door | - | - | 10 | - | - | - |
Also returned: rope and gears from sewing kits and doors, explosives from C4, gunpowder from beancans (all in the calculator above).
Sources: Facepunch Rust wiki: Recycler; Facepunch Rust wiki: Safe Zone Recycler; RustLabs game data (wiki.rustclash.com): HP, damage per explosive, recipes and recycler output, checked 16 Oct 2026.
Saving scrap for a raid? Work out the sulfur in the raid calculator. Trading the skins you looted? Compare our Rust skin trading sites, or claim free skins from Rust Twitch drops.
FAQ
- How much scrap does tech trash give?
- 16 at a safe zone recycler, 20 at a green one, 24 at a powered green one and 30 at the red Power Plant recycler, plus HQM (1 on average at a green recycler).
- Is the Outpost recycler worse?
- Yes. Recyclers in safe zones (Outpost, Bandit Camp) return 40% and take 8 seconds per cycle. A green recycler at a monument returns 50%, or 60% when the Power Plant has enough power, so the same stack gives 25% to 50% more outside safe zones.
- What gives the most scrap in a recycler?
- Rifle Body (25 scrap at a green recycler), then tech trash (20), electric fuse (20), semi automatic body (15).
- What is the red recycler in Rust?
- A single recycler at the Power Plant, added in the Power Trip update (6 August 2026). It returns 75% but only works when the Power Plant is at maximum power, which takes heavy fuses.
- Do you get sulfur back from recycling C4?
- Not directly. A C4 gives back explosives, cloth and tech trash: 10 explosives, 2.5 cloth and 1 tech trash at a green recycler.