Headphone jacks are disappearing from recent phones, which is a shame. Thanks to global volume, wired earbuds have become simple and effective accessories for audio on-the-go. So inexpensive as to be practically disposable, the price fits with the fact they have a finite and short lifespan. As the wires flex and bend, they eventually break and cause intermittent connections audible as cracks and pops. Which was why this particular set (Monoprice #18591) was retired.

Compact and lightweight, there's hardly any material here at all to reclaim or recycle. But there's a small rare earth magnet inside each earbud, and I want to extract them before the remaining carcass heads to the landfill. Similar to what I did to a retired iPad cover case.

These earbuds had been waiting processing for a while, hence the dust.

The soft rubber layer pops off easily. As I recall this was a user-replaceable item. The earbuds came with three sizes. The midsize one is installed by default, with smaller and larger sizes in the package the user can switch to best match the size of their ear canal.

There were no further user-serviceable parts. Everything else is molded or glued together so I had to break things apart with a pair of pliers.

Inside the black plastic enclosure is a shiny metal case for the tiny soundmaker.

Prying off the front metal plate exposes the thin membrane that vibrates with a small copper coil. Inside the center of that copper coil is the magnet I seek.

The magnet is glued to the enclosure, but thankfully the glue here wasn't very strong. Bending the sheet metal to get more clearance, I was able to reach in with a thin metal tool and pop out the magnet.

Attached to the magnet is a thin metal circle of the same diameter. I think it serves as a spacer, held on by the same not-very-strong glue so I could separate it from the magnet.

Here's the entire stack disassembled. Circled in red square is the magnet I will keep. Remainder will head to landfill.