Deal with the data first
A tower, an all-in-one, and an external drive can hold tax files, photos, and passwords. Before recycling, wipe the drive with the manufacturer's recommended method or remove the drive and keep it until you can wipe or physically destroy the platters through a reputable service. Removing a drive is not an invitation to dismantle the whole machine. Do not ship a working drive to a recycler if you still need the files. Write down software licenses you still use. If the computer will not power on, tell the recycler you could not wipe it and ask how they handle data-bearing devices.
Batteries and peripherals are separate questions
Some desktops have a small internal battery on the board, and many laptops and uninterruptible supplies have larger packs. If a battery is designed to come out with a normal latch, remove it and take it to a battery collection rather than leaving a swollen pack in the tower. Do not pry a sealed pack. Keyboards, mice, and speakers are often accepted with computers, but confirm. Cables can be a tangle. Coil them. A monitor is its own device. Ask whether screens ride with the tower or follow the television rule. Printers may be accepted as e-waste or refused because of ink.
Use an electronics shed, not the metal pile
A computer is not clean scrap just because the case is steel. Circuit boards belong in an e-waste program. Call a recycler, a retailer take-back, or the transfer station and ask about resident drop-off for desktops. At the site, place the tower in the electronics container without opening it on the ground. If staff want serial numbers or a count of CPUs, have the machine where you can lift it easily. Take ink and toner to the outlet named for those supplies. Do not pour toner into the trash bay.
Before you go
- Wipe or remove the drive before the computer leaves your control.
- Remove easily detachable batteries and take them to a battery program.
- Confirm the e-waste drop accepts towers, monitors, and printers.
- Unload devices intact in the electronics container.
Setting a computer on a scrap-metal pile with the hard drive still full of personal files.
Questions people ask
What if the tower will not turn on for a wipe?
Remove the drive if you can do that without tearing the machine apart, or tell the recycler the drive was not wiped. Ask them to describe their handling of data. Do not leave the machine at an unattended bin.
Are cables ordinary recycling?
Only if your program lists wire or electronics cables. Otherwise coil them and include them with the e-waste drop that agreed to take them.
Search Dumpmapper by ZIP code or city, then call the site before you load the truck. Hours and accepted materials change.