Where/how to recycle old laptops?

March 15, 2017 7:14 AM

I have some old laptops I'd like securely recycled. I used to use GreenDisk, but I was really dissatisfied with their service last year. Any better options? I'm willing to pay a small amount for peace of mind to have someone do this rather than just try to go at my hard drive with a hammer, or something.
posted by TwoStride to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Best answer: Are you open to doing the wiping yourself with software and what level of paranoia do you need for your files? Personally, I would never trust a 3rd party to do it, because even with the best of intentions, mistakes happen and there's not really a way for consumers to audit whether a company that's doing the recycling is actually wiping the drives properly (or at all) or not.

If the drives in question are hard drives, it's pretty easy to use software such as dban that will do the wiping for you. SSDs are trickier if you have serious security concerns but still doable yourself.
posted by Candleman at 7:27 AM on March 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I would wipe with dban and then Google "electronics recycling" or "e-waste" in my area.
posted by matildaben at 7:48 AM on March 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

The paper shredding place near me has a magnet and drill press they use to destroy hard drives for a few bucks apiece. Maybe there is something like that near you?
posted by migurski at 7:59 AM on March 15, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Looks like dban is the way to go. Thanks!
posted by TwoStride at 5:25 PM on March 16, 2017