Recycling laptops, smartphones, phones (Nokias), etc

Kalimocho

Hi,

Firstly, apologies for the dumbest question but I want to make sure it is safe to do so:

I have been accumulating laptops, phones, androids for the last 25 years from family and I want to get rid of them. Obviously I would like to recycling in accordance to the environmental impact of what it would be to through them on General Waste.

The issue here is that every time I am going to recycling centres in Dublin (glass), I see people taking phones, laptops, iPhones, etc and so on from the recycling deposit assuming they want to repair and put them on the market again.

I have sensitive information on my devices and I am afraid they're being repaired and exposed somehow

That's why… what do you suggest to do so?

1 - General Waste

2 - Breaking them and recycling the parts of them…

3 - Any other way with the guarantee that any info within will be erased?

Thanks

smuggler.ie

3.

Kalimocho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123372900#Comment_123372900

xD

You might just be better off taking out the hard drives yourself out of the laptops and a quick slap with a sledge hammer then on the hard drives. Shouldn’t take that long. For mobiles try and erase them or do the same with a sledgehammer and bring the waste to a recycling company.

that’s what I do anyway if getting rid of old drives. For phones I’d factory reset.

There is companies that will come out and shred whatever you have in your drive way but there expensive

Flinty997

Phones are easy they mostly all have a factory reset which wipes them. Just makes sure you take put any memory cards out of them.

Laptops are little harder, older ones you'll be able to remove the hard drives. Newer ones probably not. You'd have to do a factory reset on them also.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123379435#Comment_123379435

takes around 12 hours to securely wipe a hard drives. A format or reinstall of windows won’t do it. Old files still retrievable.

Flinty997

Takes about 3 mins with a drill.

Or overwrite or encrypt them. Takes ages. I expect thats why people don't get rid of phones and laptops they don't know how to erase them.

If you haven't your current sensitive data encrypted. Go do that incase someone robs it.

beachhead

A drill seems the easiest solution concentrating on the hard drive area first.Then you let the pc swim in a vat of water for a while,possibly adding something mildly corrosive to it.Not dangerously corrosive.Open the pc/laptop casing to do a proper job.Allow to dry on the outside if you have the time,if not opening the casing.Then off to the recycling centre with the remains.For phone a factory reset then smashing to smithereens with a club/lump hammer.I split the phone casing first for effect.Then bag the remains for the recycling centre.A dunking is optional.

Esel

I dismantle old hard disk drives to salvage the powerful magnets inside. Use the disk platters for coasters.

coylemj

The issue here is that every time I am going to recycling centres in Dublin (glass), I see people taking phones, laptops, iPhones, etc and so on from the recycling deposit assuming they want to repair and put them on the market again.

The electrical recycling skip in Ballyogan (DLR co co) involves an opening at head height, you'd literally have to climb in to retrieve anything. And you'd have great difficulty climbing out with your swag! In any event, there's always workers on site to enforce the 'no scavenging' rule.

What does that word 'glass' mean? Does your recycling centre mix glass with electrical?

Kalimocho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123391330#Comment_123391330

Feel free to try Coolmine Recycling Centre… you actually see people taking phones, TVs, etc and workers do nothing (at least, on this duty) of kicking them out.

No, the centre doesn't mix glass with electrical but they are separated on sections/containers.

However, thanks for letting me know Ballyogan centre. I might try this one.

Raichų

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123379682#Comment_123379682

dead wrong- even a damaged hard drive can have data extracted if someone was so inclined. Especially mechanical drives.

OP, if you’re very worried about this, your best bet is to give them into the likes of CEX for recycling. They will ship them off and dispose of them properly and securely.

Flinty997

No one is going to repair a hard drive from the average person. Never mind a drive physical damage on the platter by drilling. That's just ridiculous.

Of course many devices have solid state drives. But no one's going to be desoldering memory chips off those either. Not from the average person.

Raichų

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123403834#Comment_123403834

the average person isn’t going to root through a recycling bin to steal data off hard drives either whether or not they’ve been drilled into.

Flinty997

Well if you have an example where one of these master data recovery experts is trawling through recycling bins and recovering drilled hard drive platters please share.

It would a daft use of their time.

thereiver

On a laptop you go to c windows user ,delete all downloads ,music,pictures , photos , they are all in the user profile .go to browsers delete all history , go to control panel s delete browsers and other programs installed by the user donate laptops to charity or sell on adverts ie

Its a shame to throw working laptops in a skip

I d pay for a an Android phone at least 5 inch screen if you want to pm me I can meet up any day after 11.30am

Go to settings phone click reset to factory settings it erases all data from the phone takes one minute

Phones can be sold in adverts ie

Kalimocho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123403658#Comment_123403658

Thanks. CEX? Sorry but… what's that?

Kalimocho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123408246#Comment_123408246

The issue here is that some of the devices can't be turned on anymore so I can't erase the info…

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123408246#Comment_123408246

I find no one wants them ..

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123408467#Comment_123408467

It's a shop that buys and sells used things.

If you sell things they claim to erase/wipe them.

https://ie.webuy.com/

Raichų

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123408467#Comment_123408467

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123408609#Comment_123408609

you can also just give them to be recycled you do not even have to sell if you can’t be bothered.

But you might make a few quid out of the stuff you have so you might as well!

thereiver

i think charitys would accept laptops that are working and have windows 7 4gig ram at least

Esel

On a laptop you go to c windows user ,delete all downloads ,music,pictures , photos , they are all in the user profile .go to browsers delete all history , go to control panel s delete browsers and other programs installed by the user

Not a secure deletion at all. Most of the 'deleted' data would be easily recoverable. Storage devices need a secure wipe. I'm sure there are many free apps available to do this.