How we Recycle hard drives


At Green Technology Solutions, we understand the importance of keeping your data safe and secure during all steps of the recycling process. As a result, every hard drive regardless of age or functionality is either securely wiped to D.O.D. hard drive wiping standards or physically destroyed. We NEVER send hard drives to third-party recyclers for wiping.


Why Choose GTS for Hard Drive Recycling:

  1. All hard drives are securely wiped or physically destroyed in-house. We NEVER send hard drives to third-party recyclers for wiping.
  2. We provide your business with a free serial number list for all hard drives received. Not in Billings? We offer this program to all businesses in Montana. Simply send us your box of hard drives and we’ll handle the rest.
  3. Hard drive recycling is free to all customers!


Below is our process of how we securely process your hard drives:


Green Technology Solutions uses innovative approaches that emphasize reuse and refurbishing on as many hard drives as possible. As a result, we send the majority of our hard drives back into the consumer market for reuse.


First, Your hard drives are received. Hard drives are collected from one of our many drop off locations across the state. Any hard drives that are still inside of devices will also be removed during the initial sorting/disassembly process. We then separate hard drives into three processing categories: vintage, obsolete, and modern.


For Hard Drives That are Deemed “Vintage” or “Semi-Vintage”

  1. The serial number barcode is scanned to log the drive in our records.
  2. The hard drive is then securely wiped.
  3. Hard drives that fail wiping or are faulty are then added to the “obsolete” category for physical destruction.


For Hard Drives That are Deemed “Obsolete” or Failed Wiping/Testing

  1. The serial number barcode is scanned to log the drive in our physical destruction records.
  2. The circuit board is then removed and sent to a recycler that shreds them up.
  3. The remainder of the drive is put into a hydraulic press where it is physically bent in half rendering the unit completely unusable.
  4. The destroyed hard drives are then sent to a local metal recycler where they will be made into new products.


For Hard Drives That are Deemed “Modern”

  1. The serial number barcode is scanned to log the drive in our records.
  2. The hard drive is then securely wiped.
  3. Hard drives that fail wiping or are faulty are then added to the “obsolete” category for physical destruction.




We’ve installed a secure drop off slot at our main 350 S Billings Blvd. location! For your

convenience this slot is open for your hard drives 24-7.