Places to recycle/dispose of electronics?

Submitted by pvd_throwaway2 t3_ze62b9 in providence

Hello - I live on the East Side of Providence. I'm planning to move in the next few months, and have accumulated quite a collection of electronics (laptops, phones, hard drives, cables) in various working conditions. I would like to donate what works, and properly dispose of things that don't work. I've donated a kindle to the library before, and would love to hear all options! Thank you!

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401jamin t1_iz51mot wrote

Where ever you bring your electronics to I would destroy the hard drives, throw out the cables, keep a phone or two as backups if yours break, and remove the hard drives from the computers. Your info is almost always recoverable.

Someone mentioned staples to recycle. This is true. They recycle it for you but are not responsible for your data that you leave behind. Sometimes staples will offer a credit towards other electronics. Keep in mind this does not count as a donation. - I worked at staples as a manager for years.

Donating to goodwill is an option. Once again your info is not their responsibility it is yours.

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pvd_throwaway2 OP t1_iz7lk6o wrote

Thanks for the tips, especially the data protection pointers. I'm curious - why should I throw out the cables?

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huh_phd t1_iz53v1d wrote

Label them as "BTC wallet" and leave on the curb. They'll be gone before morning

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Status_Silver_5114 t1_iz55ve0 wrote

Rochambeau library has a (small) e waste collection bin by the bathrooms on the main level. You can also call waste management to do an e waste pickup / but ditto re taking care of your data!

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cowperthwaite t1_izkmf2z wrote

For things that work, I'd consider posting for free on your local BuyNothing facebook page.

Someone said a thrift store, but I think it's better to try and see if someone can use it directly before going that route.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_iz5dhd4 wrote

Depending on the timeline you can wait, there's usually dedicated windows from RIRC for e-waste stuff. Staples/Best Buy are good for the occasional monitor or two.

I think they were supposed to charge a fee but I've usually gotten by for free.

As far as hard drives, there's a risk of recovery but it's fairly low. Unless you're some super high profile, high value target, you probably aren't at risk dropping off shit as-is at recycling locations.

Known working drives in functioning but old equipment carry a little bit of a higher risk but it's still impractical and time-consuming to recovery stuff from a wiped hard drive when you don't even know if there's something worth looking for, so most people don't bother.

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pvd_throwaway2 OP t1_iz7lvhq wrote

yeah I'll have to figure out a way to wipe all the different drives, thanks!

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Dextrous456 t1_iz9gq5l wrote

I generally take them out and drill through them.

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rakman t1_izvewym wrote

All the advice about drilling hard drives is dumb and terrible for the environment. Use a free program like KillDisk, create a bootable flash drive, and wipe your data.

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