Are you worried about leaving data on your computer when donating or recycling it? It's up to you to remove any sensitive data from your computer before taking it to an E-Cycles collection location or a location for reuse.

The Department of Environmental Conservation and E-Cycles partners, operators, and collectors do not guarantee the security of any personal or confidential information stored in the electronic products that are collected under the Vermont E-Cycles Program.

Simply reformatting your drive or deleting files does NOT destroy your data. Many software programs, though, can do this for you. It is the recommendation of the Vermont Department of Information and Innovation (DII) that the best method to secure data is hard drive destruction.

There are a number of Vermont E-cycles collection facilities that offer hard drive destruction

TechSoup also has articles explaining how to destroy your data:

• Preventing Data Theft
• How to Completely Erase a Hard Drive

For more information related to data security, read Hardware Security Challenges and Suggested Solutions,
or visit Vermont Department of Information and Innovation (DII). This site includes information and links to resources that help consumers and businesses clear sensitive data from computers before taking it to a collection location. DII also offers a Hardware Disposal Policy.