What’s lurking in your trash bin? Coffee grounds? Junk mail? Yesterday’s leftovers?  How about a potential fire hazard?
That old laptop, smartphone, or rechargeable gadget you’re ready to throw away could be far more dangerous than you realize. The culprit? Lithium-ion batteries.

Small Battery. Big Fire Hazard.

Lithium-ion batteries power many of the devices we use every day, from laptops and cell phones to cordless tools and electronic toys. They’re convenient, rechargeable, and generally safe when used properly. But when they end up in the trash, things can take a dangerous turn. Imagine a garbage truck compacting its load. Hidden among the household waste is an old laptop containing a lithium-ion battery. Under pressure, that battery can become damaged, short-circuit, overheat, and ignite.

And it doesn’t stop with garbage trucks. Improperly discarded lithium batteries can also spark fires at recycling centers and waste-processing facilities, putting workers, equipment, and entire buildings at risk. The bottom line? Lithium-ion batteries never belong in your household trash or curbside recycling bin.

But Fire Isn’t the Only Hidden Danger

Before you get rid of that old laptop, there’s something else worth thinking about.

What’s still on its hard drive?

Maybe you haven’t turned that computer on in years. Maybe it doesn’t even work anymore. But its hard drive could still contain banking information, tax records, passwords, business documents, family photos, and other sensitive personal information. Deleting files or performing a factory reset doesn’t always guarantee that information is permanently unrecoverable.

And a computer that no longer works may still have a perfectly readable hard drive.

Two Problems. Two Important Steps.

When retiring an old computer, protecting the environment and protecting your personal information go hand in hand.

• First, make sure the lithium battery and other electronic components are handled through an appropriate electronics recycling or hazardous waste collection program.
• Second, make sure your sensitive information doesn’t go along for the ride.

That’s where Ship-n-Destroy can help.

Ship-n-Destroy makes it convenient to have old hard drives professionally and physically destroyed, helping protect the confidential information they contain. Rather than wondering whether your old files can be recovered, you can take steps to make sure the data is destroyed.

Think Before You Toss!

That old laptop might look like nothing more than yesterday’s technology. But inside could be a battery capable of starting a dangerous fire and a hard drive holding years of personal information. Neither belongs in the trash. Recycle your batteries responsibly. Destroy your old hard drives securely.

And remember, when it comes to protecting your personal information:

Don’t trash it. Ship it. Destroy it.

Visit Ship-n-Destroy to learn more about secure hard-drive destruction.