Hard Drive Disposal

Wisetek, Hard Drive Disposal Experts

  • 13.7M
    Disk drives erased, certified and destroyed
  • 19.2M
    Parts recorded and processed
  • $1.75B
    Components recovered for reuse

Professional hard drive disposal is amongst the best ways to keep your sensitive data secure. Unfortunately, many organizations handling large amounts of data are not taking the proper precautions against data breaches and identity theft.

Hard drive disposal carries a wide range of benefits in addition to the obvious: security. Moreover, many methods exist for properly disposing of hard drives depending on the quantity and efficiency of hard drives as well as their underlying technology.

This is why professional ITAD and hard drive disposal solutions from Wisetek are the best way of maintaining safety and regulatory compliance.

Why Choose Wisetek
for Hard Drive Disposal?

  • hard drive disposal

    National
    Coverage

    From coast to coast across the United States, Wisetek offers complete nationwide coverage for your organization’s ITAD needs from our five American offices.

  • hard drive disposal service

    Full ITAD
    Solutions

    Safe and efficient hard drive disposal is important, but it’s only one of the comprehensive ITAD services offered by Wisetek. Take advantage of our ITAD solutions for your business.

  • secure hard drive disposal

    Create an Effective CSR Strategy

    With e-waste and environmental concerns gaining more and more traction worldwide, the time has never been better to commit to a realistic CSR strategy with Wisetek’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

  • computer hard drive disposal

    Your Trust
    is Our Goal

    With Wisetek, you can rest assured that your sensitive data is completely and assuredly destroyed with audit trails, video and in-person verification, data destruction certificates, and transparency.

  • hard drive disposal

    Be Wholly and
    Effortlessly Compliant

    State legislation for data disposal differs from state to state and is always changing and evolving. Keep compliant wherever you operate in the United States and internationally with Wisetek.

  • hard drive disposal

    Flexible Pricing to Suit Your Business

    Wisetek offers clients flexible pricing plans designed to provide you with the exact ITAD services you need without hidden fees or charges for services your business doesn’t need.

What is Hard Drive Disposal?

Hard drive disposal is the process of destroying, reselling, or recycling redundant IT assets within an organisation in a safe and secure manner so that all data is made completely irretrievable afterwards. Many methods of hard drive disposal exist for different types of media.

The task of secure data destruction differs from paper document shredding in that data is increasingly going digital, meaning that you may destroy the hard drive but the data stored therein may still be retrievable by a savvy thief.

Hard Drive Degaussing

Since traditional hard drives use magnetic platters to store media, powerful magnetic forces from a degaussing machine can render the hard drive data completely irretrievable without physical destruction of the casing.

Wisetek’s hard drive degausser machines are NSA approved, making them a superbly secure choice for assured destruction.

hard drive disposal service

Hard Drive Shredding

Shredding is practical and widely used since it can be provided via mobile data destruction vehicles. It involves physically slicing the hard drives into tiny fragments, making data irretrievable.

Wisetek uses hard drive shredding equipment that tears hard drives apart into 10mm (or 2mm upon request) chunks in rapid succession.

secure hard drive disposal

Disintegration & Crushing/Punching

Industrial conveyor belts slice the hard drives into small chunks then disintegrate them into dust-sized particles, rendering them (and the data therein) completely useless.

Heavy-duty data destruction facilities can perform mechanical punches (with hardened steel) through the hard drive or crush them under extreme pressure.

computer hard drive disposal

Leave Hard Drive Disposal to the Experts

Only 17 per cent of global organizations are using physical destruction processes, such as Degaussing or Shredding, with the remainder either using formatting software – or even worse – taking no action at all.

Instead, consult a professional ITAD company such as Wisetek that has a proven track record of confidentiality and certifications when it comes to secure data destruction. This not only saves time and money, but it also ensures that your organization is meeting compliance with state regulations for data disposal.

Risks of Data Breaches

Data breaches are a common occurrence in our increasingly digitized world, with ever more data (including sensitive data) being stored within large, global organizations. Research suggests that a data breach in 2020 may cost as much as $150 million.

Furthermore, data breaches can create major public backlash and a subsequent plummeting of public image and brand reputation. Not to mention the opportunity costs of lost revenues, which can amount to millions more. Considering this information, how will your organization act to prevent a data breach from occurring in the first place?

The best course of action is to be proactive rather than reactive. This means hiring a global leader in ITAD services such as Wisetek to handle the safe and efficient disposition of IT assets.

hard drive disposal

The Growing E-Waste Crisis

Where do old hard drives go to die? Unfortunately, landfills in the United States are packed to the brim as-is, meaning that a reckless asset disposition strategy only contributes to more waste.

E-waste accounts for nearly 70 per cent of hazardous waste due to the presence of cadmium, lead, and other toxins found in trace amounts on hard drives.

If your company is serious about helping the environment, as it should be, then you’ll require an ITAD company like Wisetek that’s aligned with your goals for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental stewardship. Wisetek has committed itself to a zero-landfill policy through the implementation of a circular economy model which minimizes and reduces waste.

hard drive disposal service

Frequently Asked Questions About Hard Drive Disposal

What part of the hard drive needs to be destroyed?

Hard drives differ in their technology, with most being either hard disk drives (HDD) or solid-state drives (SSD). HDDs use magnetic storage technology to store data, with the actual storage component being a small, silver-colored disc (commonly called a “platter”). Dinging or shattering the platter into small pieces renders the hard drive useless.

Solid-state drives, on the other hand, contain no moving parts to destroy and instead store data using flash memory. SSDs can be destroyed by brute force, such as with a hammer, but professional ITAD services can ensure that they’re destroyed quickly and thoroughly.

Can old hard drives be recycled?

Yes! Once hard drives have been thoroughly destroyed, the constituent parts can be recycled. This doesn’t mean you can simply recycle an entire hard drive, however. The hard drive should be disintegrated or crushed before being recycled.

Do not dispose of unprocessed hard drives in a landfill. This contributes to the growing e-waste crisis, and in many states, data disposal laws prohibit improper disposal of electronic waste and can issue significant fines or penalties for failure to comply.

Are old hard drives worth anything?

Old hard drives hold scant scrap value due to the rapid obsolescence of computer technology. They aren’t completely worthless, however. Redundant IT assets may be wiped and resold on the second-hand market or salvaged for scrap metal, but this isn’t a realistic DIY job.

ITAD companies such as Wisetek provide value by ensuring maximum monetary return on old IT assets, thus putting more money back in the pockets of businesses.

Will a magnet destroy a hard drive?

It depends on the size and strength of the magnet. A common refrigerator magnet will not likely do much on a hard disk drive (HDD), but a large, powerful magnet known as a degausser has the ability to render magnetic media completely useless and all data irretrievable when exposed to the strong magnetic forces.

Does wiping a hard drive remove everything?

Wiping a hard drive via software or applications can result in the removal of all sensitive data, but there’s no absolute guarantee that a savvy thief won’t be able to retrieve some or all of the data thereafter. That’s why physical destruction is a sure, time-proven method of securely destroying hard drives.

Deleting all files (e.g. moving everything to the ‘Recycle Bin’) or formatting the hard drive do not securely destroy sensitive data. These methods are ineffective and should not be considered for security reasons.

Does removing a hard drive delete everything?

Simply removing a hard drive from one computer does nothing in terms of data access. Hard drives can be installed on other computers, permitting users full access to all data stored therein. It doesn’t matter if the computer has been idle for weeks or years, all data can be accessed at any time on any computer connected to the hard drive.

Is everything stored on the hard drive?

Not necessarily. In terms of relevant data for your company, such as text documents, spreadsheets, photos, and all other files, these are often stored on a hard drive. Nowadays, many businesses choose to store data on large servers or on the cloud (internet storage).

Nevertheless, any sensitive data stored on your computer’s hard drive should be kept secure and disposal of the hard drive should be handled with professional hard drive disposal services.

Discover how Wisetek can help you

Wisetek have been a global leader in ITAD services since 2007 and can perform a wide range of hard drive destruction and hard drive disposal services.

Contact Wisetek Today