Recycle IT Safely – Computers, Phone, Tablet & Hard Disks!

According to industry research shipments of PCs are definitely growing, for the first time in six years. Market research firms Gartner and IDC both agree that the PC market grew worldwide in the second quarter of 2018, with IDC claiming an increase of 2.7% and Gartner recording a 1.4 % growth.

Windows 10 business PCs seem to be driving some of the growth and PC shipments in the second quarter of 2018 was driven by demand in the business market. People are also buying the latest high-end PCs for gaming at home.

Even with this growth, the consumer PC’s market has changed and this change continues to impact on personal PC sales to homes and business. Consumers are using their smartphones for even more daily tasks, such as checking social media, calendaring, banking and shopping, which is reducing the need for a consumer PC at home.

Data and Information 

As PC sales ebb and flow individuals and organisations are becoming larger consumers of information every day. We are buying storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDD) to store business and personal customer information including photos of everything from our kids to bank statements, bank cards and password data. Everything can be stored electronically!

Higher resolution video, more cameras, growth in the “internet of things” (IoT) i.e. devices such as smart TVs, smart speakers, smart toys, wearable, drones, smart appliances and applications are driving demand for electronic storage.

Weather data is stored on external HDD, mobile phones, tablets, memory cards, memory keys or other storage devices people should be aware how important it is to destroy and recycle these devices safely once the items have served their purpose. Both business and personal data can be valuable to others so it’s important to, wipe data and/or dismantle old data storing equipment so data can’t be recovered.

You might be thinking, what will I do with all that information on the HDD before recycling a PC?  If so, please don’t try to burn or use industrial-strength magnetic forces on the devices as these methods are not full proof or safe!

What to Do next?

The key is to destroy your computer, laptop or tablet HDD is ensuring it can’t ever spin again. The physical destruction of the drive means increased confidence that stored data is obliterated and can never be used again. This is the method, Recycle IT prescribe and practice.

In the interest of time and money, you don’t need to destroy the full PC or laptop just the hard drive which is a small box inside of computer itself and usually contains sensitive information including credit card information, photos or contact details. So if you are upgrading to a new computer device (desktop computer, phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) please arrange for the removal of the hard drive at the same time as recycling the computer!

How to Destroy the HDD?

If you are looking to dispose of an old computer with a hard drive, it’s really best to physically destroy the old hard drive just to be 100% certain that the old data is completely destroyed.  Recycle IT use electronic tools and powerful cutting tools to ensure the HDD is destroyed. This method is an ideal option for the disposal of home or small office hard drives.

Safety in Destruction

Our team take every precaution from wearing protective goggles, gloves, and a dust mask for mouth and nose when cutting into the metal drive. They can cut right through the drive, from one side to the other multiple times ensuring the platters and the controller board are shattered.  Once complete Recycle IT can provide destruction and disposal certification depending on your needs.

Finally

It’s worth making the point again – failure to arrange the destruction of your old hard drives at the time of recycling your computer or phone could result in the inappropriate sharing of sensitive information.

About Recycle IT

Recycle IT is an award-winning not for profit social enterprise providing a collection and drop off service for all types of waste electrical, electronic and metal items. During the last 18 months Recycle IT offer drop off and collection services to over 100,000 homes and organisations in Dublin and surrounding areas collecting a range of WEEE which includes thousands of dishwashers, computers, cables, monitors, microwaves, TVs and metal items.

Our electrical community collection service is provided in partnership with WEEE Ireland. Recycle IT are supported by the Pobal operated Dormant Accounts Funds and the Community Service Programme, South Dublin County Council and recycling is authorized by the National Waste Collection Permit Office and the local authorities across Leinster.

Call us on 01 4578321 or email us at here

Visit our website www.recycleit.ie