Safely dispose of USBs, CDs & SD cards

When you no longer need a USB stick, SD card or home-made CD, the easiest – and laziest – way to get rid of it is to throw it in the bin. As well as being bad for the environment, wasting materials that can be reused, it’s also risks compromising your privacy. Old storage media may contain all kinds of personal data you’ve forgotten was there, including documents, photos and videos, which could fall into the hands of criminals or anyone who happens to root through your rubbish. Here, we explain the safest and most responsible ways to dispose of USB sticks, memory cards and discs, as well as your devices’ batteries.

Securely erase your old USB sticks

Although individual USB sticks