topic Re: Disposal of laptops in Electronics

Disposal of laptops

twinsister — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:44:12 GMT

I have two dead laptops and want to get rid of them. I know I just can't throw them in the trash. I called a local computer repair shop and asked if they could remove the har drive and destroy it with hammer in front of me. Depending on how hard it is to retrieve the hard drive, the cost will be between $50-100 per laptop. Am I getting ripped off? Any other suggestions?

Re: Disposal of laptops

FranandZoe — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:55:28 GMT

Do it yourself.

I recently removed the hard drive from an old computer tower and smashed it with a hammer. Then took the. tower to an electronics recylcing place.

Google your brand/model of laptop for how to remove the hard drive.

Re: Disposal of laptops

twinsister — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:11:24 GMT

@FranandZoe - thanks, I will try that.

Re: Disposal of laptops

I am still oxox — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:15:57 GMT

I wiped the memory on my old Mac and gave to it Charity

Re: Disposal of laptops

Kachina624 — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:46:21 GMT

@I am still oxox. Experts say wiping the memory is not sufficient as information can still be retrieved from the hard drive. That's why people remove and physically destroy it.

Re: Disposal of laptops

I am still oxox — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:58:20 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@I am still oxox. Experts say wiping the memory is not sufficient as information can still be retrieved from the hard drive. That's why people remove and physically destroy it.

@Kachina624 It was a work computer did not contain any personal information

Re: Disposal of laptops

SilleeMee — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:49:01 GMT

After you remove the drives then you can take them to Best Buy and they will recycle them for free (free for up to 5 laptops).

Re: Disposal of laptops

JanetsGirl — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:05:23 GMT

You can recycle any electronic device at an Apple Store. Apple will recycle any electronic device for free; it does not have to be an Apple device. If you are recycling an Apple device, Apple may give you some store credit for the recycled item. I have taken several non-Apple devices to my local Apple Store for free recycling.

Re: Disposal of laptops

gaga — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:09:13 GMT

I remove the hard drives & drill a whole with a steel bit into them. Staples recycles desktop, towers & laptops.

Re: Disposal of laptops

Tinkrbl44 — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:38:44 GMT

@FranandZoe wrote:
Do it yourself.

I recently removed the hard drive from an old computer tower and smashed it with a hammer. Then took the. tower to an electronics recylcing place.

Google your brand/model of laptop for how to remove the hard drive.

Is it recommended .. or common ... to smash a laptop with a hammer? I doubt it removes what's in the memory.

Re: Disposal of laptops

twinsister — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 20:42:48 GMT

Thanks everyone for your tips and solutions. I appreciate it.

Re: Disposal of laptops

Venezia — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 21:01:42 GMT

@twinsister - As someone else mentioned, Staples will recyle these for free. They have a very long list of everything they recycle.

And, if you're a member of their free Rewards program, you get points for each thing recycled. Right now we have nearly $60 in rewards. It's a good program, if you have a nearby Staples.

Re: Disposal of laptops

FranandZoe — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 22:41:39 GMT

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@FranandZoe wrote:
Do it yourself.

I recently removed the hard drive from an old computer tower and smashed it with a hammer. Then took the. tower to an electronics recylcing place.

Google your brand/model of laptop for how to remove the hard drive.

Is it recommended .. or common ... to smash a laptop with a hammer? I doubt it removes what's in the memory.

@Tinkrbl44 You smash the hard drive not the laptop.

Re: Disposal of laptops

FranandZoe — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 22:43:33 GMT

@twinsister wrote:
Thanks everyone for your tips and solutions. I appreciate it.

@twinsister By the way if you do want to smash the hard drive yourself place it in a plastic bag first. It really shatters and pieces can fly.

Re: Disposal of laptops

icezeus — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 23:00:52 GMT

In my area, they have places where, every few months, you can have electronic items recycled. Since it's a computer, I would make sure to wipe the hard drive before taking it to one of these locations.

Look up the manufacturer's name for how to carry out this task, or YouTube would be an excellent source as well.

Re: Disposal of laptops

SilleeMee — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 00:38:38 GMT

Look for 'hard drive shredder services' in your area. That way you don't have to smash it yourself and they will dispose of the pieces for you. Cost can run upwards of about $20 per drive but some places it might be closer to $10 depending on where you are located. I've seen some places offer free hard drive shredding so look around.

Re: Disposal of laptops

beach-mom — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 01:16:03 GMT

@twinsister - Best Buy will take them and wipe them clean. We have done this, but we never have sensitive info on our home laptops.

Re: Disposal of laptops

gadgetgal613 — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 10:55:30 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@I am still oxox. Experts say wiping the memory is not sufficient as information can still be retrieved from the hard drive. That's why people remove and physically destroy it.

That's not true. You need a program which can overwrite the drive multiple times to make it unreadable. I did that when I donated my old computers to charity and I never had any problems with identity theft. But from what I've read over the years, people prefer to smash a hard drive with a hammer.

Re: Disposal of laptops

gardenman — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:22:07 GMT

Bear in mind that a lot of modern computers don't even have a hard drive, but instead use an SSD or m.2 drives. Apple often solder their m.2 drives into place on the motherboard. Unless you have a hot air station and know how to remove it, it's there for good. Smashing hard drives doesn't work on those. I've never smashed a hard drive. I either put it in a new computer or stash it on a high shelf in a seldom-used closet where it'll sit and wait for an eternity. I never want to risk having forgotten something important on the hard drive that I'll need later.

If you use a competent drive cleaner, you're pretty safe. Could someone with unlimited resources still extract data? Yeah, but there aren't that many people out there with unlimited resources. If you're a billionaire, or a scofflaw with lots of incriminating whatever on your hard drive, keeping it better protected is wise. In general, just using a drive cleaning piece of software should make you safe from all but the most dedicated data thieves. And there aren't that many dedicated data thieves out there. There are easier ways to steal information.

Re: Disposal of laptops

I am still oxox — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 11:08:18 GMT

@monicakm wrote:
@I am still oxox

That's a risky thing to do, wiping the hard drive. There could still information to be accessed from that drive by the right person with the right skill set.

@monicakm I already stated it did not contain any personal info. That was about 8 years ago and there have been no repercussions. Also I did it under instructions from an Apple adviser