Free Hard Drive and SSD Recycling with Secure Data Destruction

Have a box of old hard drives or SSDs you don’t know what to do with? Drop them off at our Rhodes NSW lab and we will destroy the data and recycle the drives for free.

We are a data recovery company, so we know exactly what it takes to get data back. That is why we know how to make sure nobody can.

Submit a Job Call us : 1300 444 800

Pile of hard drive actuator arms and heads in a metal bin

How it works

Submit a free data destruction job online so we have your details and device count.
Bring your drives to our Rhodes office in person, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post them to us there. You can also hand them, boxed or packaged, to our Sydney CBD, Melbourne CBD or Brisbane CBD office, and we forward them to Rhodes at no charge.
Working drives are securely wiped using the US DoD method, which overwrites every sector.
Faulty hard drives that cannot be wiped are degaussed, which erases the magnetic data permanently. Faulty SSDs are shredded, also free.
You get your certificate of destruction by email if you asked for one.

Why is it free?

As a data recovery lab, we need spare parts to repair customer drives. Once a drive has been erased, we keep its read/write heads and circuit boards (PCBs) as donor parts. We never use the platters, and we never look at any data. Everything else is recycled.

Drives we accept

NVMe and M.2 SSDs

NVMe and M.2 SATA SSDs from laptops, desktops and Macs. Working SSDs are securely erased. Faulty SSDs can’t be degaussed, because degaussing doesn’t affect flash memory, so we shred them free of charge.

SATA hard drives (2.5 and 3.5 inch)

Laptop drives (2.5 inch) and desktop, NAS and server drives (3.5 inch). Working drives get a US DoD wipe. Faulty drives are degaussed.

2.5 inch external USB hard drives

Portable drives from Seagate, Western Digital (WD), Toshiba and other brands. Bring them in their cases. You don’t need to take the drive out; we do that for you.

SAS, SCSI and IDE drives

Older and enterprise drives are welcome too. We accept SAS, SCSI and IDE drives as a bonus, so bring them along with the rest.

Not accepted for free recycling

USB flash drives, memory cards, CDs, DVDs and backup tapes. See our degaussing service for hard drives and tapes for tapes, or physical shredding for flash and optical media.

Certificate of destruction

Free certificate: lists the total number of devices and the method used, for example “53 hard drives”. No models or serial numbers.
Detailed certificate, $1 per device: lists the model and serial number of every device. This takes extra time.

Want your drives back?

If you want your drives back, we can securely erase them and return them for $10 per disk. You can collect them from Rhodes, or we can post them back for an extra fee.

Visit or post to our Rhodes facility

Payam Data Recovery, Suite 213, Level 2, 5 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes NSW 2138. Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm. Phone 1300 444 800.

Visit us in person at Suite 213, Level 2, 5 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes NSW 2138, or post your drives to us at that address.

Frequently asked questions

Is it really free?

Yes, when you drop the drives off at our Rhodes lab and let us keep the heads and PCBs as spare parts. All prices on this page include GST.

How do I get my drives to you?

Visit our Rhodes office in person, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post them to us there.

Will anyone look at my data?

No. We never view the data on any drive.

What happens to the platters?

We never use them as parts. After erasure, the rest of the drive is recycled.

What wiping standard do you use?

Working drives are wiped with the US DoD method, which overwrites every sector.

What if a drive doesn't work?

Faulty hard drives are degaussed, which permanently erases the data even if the drive won’t spin up. Faulty SSDs are shredded free of charge.

Do I need to take drives out of external USB cases?

No. Bring them in their cases and we remove them for you.

How many drives can I bring?

There is no limit. Bring as many as you have.

Can I have my drives back?

Yes. We can securely erase them and return them for $10 per disk. You can collect them from Rhodes, or we can post them back for an extra fee.

Do you shred drives?

We shred faulty SSDs from free recycling at no charge. Otherwise we offer shredding only for clients who must have physical destruction. For most people, free recycling is faster, cheaper and better for the environment.

Ready to send us your old drives?

Submit a Job