Recycling Electronics in Washington State: A Quick Guide

Every business and household has electronic waste to recycle. These types of E-waste materials can include laptops, desktops, TVs, and electronic accessories. In addition to these materials posing a threat to the environment if not properly disposed of, they may also contain confidential information that can pose a threat to your information security, especially if they’re not securely destroyed by a professional mixed media shredding company. Where do you start though? If you want to make a positive impact on the environment while also protecting your confidential data, PROSHRED® Seattle has put together this quick guide to help you.

Which Electronic Items Can I Recycle?

Currently, landfills contain thousands of electronic materials that need to see either proper disposal or responsible recycling. To prevent further damage to the environment brought on by e-waste, it’s important to be aware of what items actually can be recycled. While there are a few exceptions, most electronics should be disposed of through a recycling process instead of simply being thrown into a landfill. Additionally, PROSHRED® Seattle’s hard drive destruction services can complement the state’s free e-cycle services to ensure that an entire desktop or laptop can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way while protecting your information security.

E-Cycle Washington is a free electronics recycling program that’s available for all Washington State residents. This program can accept a wide range of electronic items including:

• Computers
• Laptops
• Monitors
• Tablets
• E-Readers
• Televisions
• Portable DVD Players
• Various Electronic Accessories

If you’re planning to use this electronic recycling service, remember to call your local collector ahead of time and inform them of any broken items you have. Depending on the state of your electronics, your items may be rejected for the health and safety of personnel and members of the community.

Recycling Electronic Items That Contain Confidential Information

Electronics that contain hard drives usually contain confidential information such as website login information, financial data and personal identification information. It’s important to take the necessary precautions when recycling these items. Simply erasing this data from your computer or laptop is not enough to render the information irrecoverable. Removing your hard drives and then having them destroyed through PROSHRED® Seattle’s hard drive shredding services is a suggested extra step which will better safeguard your confidential information before the recycling process. Our hard drive shredding services are both secure and environmentally friendly. Combining this service with the E-Cycle Washington program is the perfect way to protect your sensitive information while helping to protect the environment.

Where Can I Recycle My Electronics?

The Department of Ecology provides all of the information you need to properly recycle your old electronics. You can search for recycling providers in your area through their website.

Be aware that collectors will NOT accept these items:

• Keyboards
• Printers
• Toner Cartridges
• Cell Phones

Luckily, these items can be dropped off for recycling at no charge to you at your local Best Buy, Staples, or RadioShack Stores. Call your retailer ahead of time to make sure that they will take your items.

Recycle Your Electronics for Free

E-Cycle Washington is a program for all Washington State residents that makes finding a recycling provider and improving the environment a straightforward and easy process. This program is 100% free. All of the information you need for the proper disposal of your electronics is available on the Department of Ecology’s website.

Also remember to keep your information security in mind when recycling electronics that can store data on their hard drives. Simply pressing “delete” on your device is often not enough to completely destroy the data on your laptop or desktop’s hard drive. Luckily, PROSHRED® Seattle offers secure hard drive destruction services. If you’re looking to dispose of your hard drive before recycling your electronics, PROSHRED® is here to help.

PROSHRED® Seattle helps its customers with hard drive destruction, ensuring that the confidential information on the drives cannot be accessed. Combined with E-Cycle Washington’s free program to recycle electronics, our hard drive destruction services are the perfect way to dispose of an entire desktop or laptop computer. Our mixed media shredding services also cover mixed media like VHS tapes, DVDs, audiotapes, CDs, and digital tapes. Trust our certified shredding technicians to properly destroy and dispose of your electronic materials. For more information on PROSHRED® Seattle and our services, call us today.