Current best practices: electronics recycling edition
September 4, 2022 12:17 PM Subscribe
I have a handful of old laptops (~5-15 years old), a second-generation Kindle, and some equally ancient old cell phones and external hard drives. What are the current best practices for recycling these? Is there any substantive difference between taking them to, say, Best Buy vs a more specialized business?
(Also, I'd appreciate any refresher tips on how to best clear my personal data before turning the items over).
(Also, I'd appreciate any refresher tips on how to best clear my personal data before turning the items over).
Recycling practices vary by jurisdiction. In Canada it makes no difference if you return to a retailer or to a recycling outlet, as all of the collected items are forwarded to the same place.
posted by shock muppet at 1:06 PM on September 4, 2022
posted by shock muppet at 1:06 PM on September 4, 2022
I still have all my old hard drives (pulled from however many old computers) because they take up very little space compared to the peace of mind of (A) not having to wipe them, run a drill press through them, whatever, and (2) maybe possibly realizing that twelve* backups ago I missed some file it turns out I need now. More recent drive pulls are on a shelf; older drive pulls are in a box in the basement. I encounter the "oh crap, where's that file" sort of problem about once every eighteen months, on average.
For the Kindle, if you think it's possible you'll want a new Kindle at all (that is, if you haven't [reasonably] decided to avoid Amazon completely) then trade it in. Even if it's dead and the nominal value is $0, they'll maybe give you five bucks for it and they'll definitely give you 20% off a replacement. Despite my general desire to avoid giving Bezos any more money, between the $10 they gave me for a Voyage that was stuck in a reboot loop, the 20% off trade-in offer, and this year's Prime Day deals we got a new Kindle Paperwhite Kids (includes a case, no "special offers," and a better warranty) for $63 + tax ($97 off the regular price of $159.99). It was too good of a deal to pass up for a new e-reader I can still put library books on.
For the phones: specifics of what phones they are and whether they even power on would be helpful.
* Number approximate.
posted by fedward at 1:27 PM on September 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
For the Kindle, if you think it's possible you'll want a new Kindle at all (that is, if you haven't [reasonably] decided to avoid Amazon completely) then trade it in. Even if it's dead and the nominal value is $0, they'll maybe give you five bucks for it and they'll definitely give you 20% off a replacement. Despite my general desire to avoid giving Bezos any more money, between the $10 they gave me for a Voyage that was stuck in a reboot loop, the 20% off trade-in offer, and this year's Prime Day deals we got a new Kindle Paperwhite Kids (includes a case, no "special offers," and a better warranty) for $63 + tax ($97 off the regular price of $159.99). It was too good of a deal to pass up for a new e-reader I can still put library books on.
For the phones: specifics of what phones they are and whether they even power on would be helpful.
* Number approximate.
posted by fedward at 1:27 PM on September 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
If the external drives use hard disks, you can always take them apart and extract the cool disks/platters before recycling. It'll be nigh impossible for anyone to ever get the data off them even if they don't get unusably scratched, and they make nice coasters or paperweights.
posted by trig at 2:50 PM on September 4, 2022
posted by trig at 2:50 PM on September 4, 2022
Response by poster: Phones: one is an HTC dumb phone c. 2009, and I'm not sure I even have the charger for it anymore. The other one an HTC smart phone, maybe from 2011? Also probably without a compatible charger anymore.
posted by TwoStride at 9:49 AM on September 5, 2022
posted by TwoStride at 9:49 AM on September 5, 2022
If the dumb phone had a proprietary connector and not some USB variant I don’t think I’d consider it much of a risk unless you have known enemies. I’d be surprised if the smartphone didn’t have USB, though, so I’d spend a little time trying to scrounge up the right cable just to make sure it was properly wiped. I’d start by looking up the model number and seeing what cables were in the box. Maybe if you see a picture of the cable it’ll spark your memory of where you might have put such a thing.
If you can’t charge the battery at all and it won’t turn on even if connected to power (not unlikely) you’re safe recycling it as is. Unless you have enemies. Obsolete phones with proprietary cables aren’t really low hanging fruit for identity theft, when poorly secured corporate databases and spear phishing attacks are known to pay off with current data.
posted by fedward at 12:32 PM on September 5, 2022
If you can’t charge the battery at all and it won’t turn on even if connected to power (not unlikely) you’re safe recycling it as is. Unless you have enemies. Obsolete phones with proprietary cables aren’t really low hanging fruit for identity theft, when poorly secured corporate databases and spear phishing attacks are known to pay off with current data.
posted by fedward at 12:32 PM on September 5, 2022
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