Free Hard Drive Recycling
Recycle your personal or professional computer equipment today with our safe, free hard drive recycling services. Magnetic-style, solid state drives, external, and USB hard drives are all recyclable at participating locations. Check out these answers to common questions about the recycling process.
Can I Recycle My Old Hard Drive?
Yes, hard drives can be dropped off at our recycling location or you can schedule a pick up at your home or office. Whether you’re updating your home computer or replacing lots of hard drives in your company, it’s important to safely recycle them. This avoids sending the components to a landfill or leaving your private data at risk.
Is It Illegal To Throw Away My Old Hard Drive?
Check your state laws regarding electronics disposal. In many states, you can be fined for improper disposal of hard drives. Even if it isn’t illegal, it’s important to recycle your electronics rather than throwing them in your household garbage.
The reason improper disposal is illegal in most states is due to the environmental risks. Hard drives and other electronic devices contain small amounts of lead, mercury and other toxins.
A sealed device keeps you shielded from these toxins, but sending items to a landfill can compromise the protective case.
Recycling is a responsible way to ensure heavy metals and other potentially harmful materials are safely removed and dealt with, rather than left in landfills. Hard drives also contain gold and other costly materials that can be recycled.
Will My Data Be Safe if I Recycle My Old Hard Drive?
Data breaches cost U.S. companies an average of $8.64 million. While cyberattacks can occur in a number of ways, one way that resourceful hackers and scammers attack businesses is through old hard drives.
If you’ve disposed of a hard drive, either in the garbage or with a company that doesn’t offer data destruction services, then your sensitive information may be at risk. Even deleted files are still retrievable with the right resources. Standard data destruction isn’t enough to prevent resourceful hackers, so choose a recycling service that offers secure data destruction.
For hard drives, this means wiping the data using software that follows the Department of Defense 5220.22-M process. This process uses three overwriting passes to effectively protect personal and business data.
Shredding services can also make sure your hard drive is never accessed again. It’s a safe way to protect your data before recycling the materials, rather than attempting to make it available for reuse. Some electronics can be reused, while others are recycled to recover these rare materials:
- Platinum
- Cobalt
- Palladium
- Aluminum
- Neodymium
These materials are difficult to remove on your own, but can be removed and processed into new electronics. Don’t contribute to excess waste in the industry, but promote responsible recycling and safe data management.
You don’t need to remove the hard drive from your device to have it safely recycled. Choose a highly rated tech recycling company in your area and bring in an entire computer or individual components. Full-service tech recycling means you don’t need to spend time sorting through items or disassembling your computer.
How Much Does It Cost To Recycle My Old Hard Drive?
There are a number of convenient ways to recycle old electronics, so the fee depends on the option you choose. Bring your electronics to our recycling center in Pontiac, MI for free data destruction and recycling.
If you wish to have a hard drive picked up from your location, there will be a small fee. Choose to set up collection bins in your office building or schedule a convenient pickup of one or more hard drives. These solutions are particularly convenient for companies looking for bulk hard drive recycling.
