Electronics are the one category where preparing the item matters more than sorting it. They contain recoverable metals and genuinely hazardous materials in the same box, so a little preparation before pickup protects both the crew and your own data.
Wipe your data before it leaves the house
This is the step most households skip. A wipe performed after the device has been handed over is not a wipe, and factory resetting a phone is not enough on its own: sign out of your accounts so activation locks clear, remove SIM and memory cards, and keep them. If a laptop will not power on, remove the drive rather than assuming the data is gone.
- Phones and tablets: sign out, factory reset, remove SIM and memory cards.
- Laptops: sign out, remove the storage drive if the machine still boots.
- Chargers and cables: bundle them together, they are collected separately.
- Batteries: tape the terminals or bag each one, then keep them apart from cloth.
Tube lights and bulbs travel upright
Fluorescent tubes contain a small amount of mercury, so they are handled separately from general e-waste and they must arrive unbroken. Reuse the original sleeve where you can, or wrap the tube in newspaper and stand it upright in a bucket instead of laying it flat under other items.
What we cannot take
We do not accept medical devices, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, or anything leaking. These need a licensed hazardous waste channel, and we will say so rather than take them and pass the problem on.
Booking an e-waste pickup?
Tell us roughly what you have in the notes so we bring the right containers, and pack batteries and tubes separately before we arrive.