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, Northeast Resource Recovery Association, Association of Vermont Recyclers and their 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. TechSoup has articles explaining how to destroy your data:

• Avoid Data Theft: Clean Your Old Hard Drives
• Obliterate Your Hard Drive Data With Disk-Wiping Software

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.