How to Recycle Old Laptops: The Complete Guide
It’s inevitable. Eventually, your old laptop is going to become obsolete or just too slow to keep up with the latest software. What do you do with it? You could try to sell it online or in a store, but there’s no guarantee that someone will want to buy it.
Recycling is the most effective option for laptops and other electronic devices. Valuable resources can be extracted from the devices and repurposed for manufacturing new products.
Additionally recycling an old laptop with a trusted service provider can also ensure that any personal data left on the device remains completely removed. Whether this is done through using sophisticated software to overwrite the information or through physical destruction, there are multiple reliable methods for protecting you against someone else wrongly accessing your records in the future.
In this guide, we are going to provide a complete overview for how to safely and properly recycle your old laptops. First, let’s begin with completely destroying user data.
Destroy Data Completely
Most people have some type of sensitive data stored on their laptops. This can include anything from financial records to personal photos. If you don’t properly delete this information, someone else could potentially recover it and use it for their own benefit.
There are a few methods for destroying data on your old laptop. Sophisticated software applications can be used to overwrite the entire hard drive multiple times. This method is often used when storage devices can’t easily be accessed and the data still needs to be completely destroyed.
Another method of data destruction is to physically destroy the hard drive. We do this by physically shredding the device so that it cannot be reassembled and accessed in the future. If the data cannot be overwritten on the hard drive, this is the solution we implement.
Remove All Personal Items
If you wish to also dispose of any additional storage devices like USB flash drives or external hard drives, they can also be either overwritten or shredded using our data destruction services.
You should also take the time to disconnect any peripherals that are connected to the device. This can range from its power cord to any cables for external devices, and any personal accessories that are attached.
Take Your Device to an Electronics Recycling Service
After you have destroyed the data on your device and removed all of your personal belongings, it’s time to contact ProTek Recycling. Here’s why:
Independently Certified
ProTek Recycling is an NY Registered Recycling Facility and independently AAA-Certified by NAID. This ensures that we have been vetted against objective standards for operational and facility security, data destruction processes, employee hiring practices, and insurance coverage for liability.
Data Destruction Services Available
As we’ve mentioned, data destruction is a critical part of the recycling process for old laptops. If you choose to use our data destruction services, you can rest assured knowing that your information will be secure. We also provide documentation to confirm that your storage devices have been destroyed.
Zero Landfill Policy
When you recycle your old laptop, you want to be confident that it won’t end up in a landfill. Not only can this further contribute to environmental hazards within the dumping site, but it can also leave vulnerable storage devices at risk. ProTek Recycling abides by a zero-landfill policy that complies with the NYS Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act so you can have peace of mind knowing that your device will be properly recycled.
No Overseas Disposal
In addition to a zero-landfill policy, our services do not ship any of its e-waste overseas. Overseas disposal often leads to even worse environmental consequences. Transporting e-waste requires energy and produces emissions, toxic materials in the devices can contaminate the environment, and any intact storage devices can potentially be breached by hackers that take items from the junk piles.
ProTek Recycling Offers Services in NY, NJ, and Boston
At ProTek Recycling, we are committed to providing you with a reliable and secure method for safely recycling your old laptops. We offer complete, NAID AAA-certified data destruction services along with confirmation of completion for your records.
To learn more about how we can help you recycle your old laptops in NY, NJ, or New England, contact us today.