What do you do with your old laptop?

[LivelyBlake]

I have four old laptops that are of no use to anybody - really old. I have erased the data and would like to recycle them but I’m not sure if it’s safe. I can’t find a recycling facility near me either.

Hence my question: what do you do with your old laptops?

I throw mine in the sea.

We were really lucky that DD's school had a charity come in to take old tech so we had a good clearout - it would seem that we weren't the only ones as apparently they had their best ever response to an appeal!

Previously I think we've taken them to our local council recycling facility which takes tech as well.

I throw mine in the sea.

I hope you are joking. Dreadful pollution.

I have about 3 I want to get rid of but need to get the hard drive out.... No idea how to do that, except taking a hammer to it, which is as bad.

Why would you do that?

I’ve heard that you can drill a hole through the hard drive then take it to the recycling, but no idea if it’s true or not.

What does the hard drive look like?

If you've removed your data then I'd see if there are any charities locally who could use them or take them for recycling.

When DH upgrades his laptop, older ones are generally passed down the family. Same with phones.

Most councils have a skip for small appliances.

In fact there have been adverts on TV recently with "Hypno Cat".

Not sure that you are supposed to chuck them in there with the battery though as it can present a fire risk.

And of course remove the hard drive.

Our local pc world recycle them

What!! Have you no conscience at all?

Currys wipe the data and recycle them.

Take the hard drive out, smash it, hand the rest of the computer in at Curry's or other recycling place.

You could maybe see if there's any community initiatives that will take them? We have one locally and they teach people with additional needs how to build computers. They take old tech and recycle the parts. They also rehab old tech / use it to teach.

Drill a hole in the hard drive and take it to the dump

Most computer companies will recycle them for you. Have a look for a local one that does repairs, etc.

There are charities that refurbish old computers or use some of the parts.

I would do a search in your local area for something like that.

Or you can go to places like a PC World store, they offer a free recycling drop off.

I want to know that the person who said they'd throw it into the sea was joking. They were weren't they??

Thanks all. I cannot find any charities nearby but I have a Curry’s so I’ll try them. I hope they’ll take the lot.

I think it is a Wagatha reference. Or alternatively it was just funny, made me laugh. Or alternatively they are an arse.