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75 North Bridge St, Somerville NJ 08876 - (Behind Bank of America) Hours M-F 10am-5pm Sa 9-2 (908) 428-9558
908-428-9558 Talk to an Expert Contact Us
Computer Recycling · Somerville, New Jersey

Free recycling
isn’t free.
You pay with your data.

Most “free” recyclers never wipe the drive before disposal. We do — and we’ll give you written proof that it was wiped and physically destroyed.

Plan Your Drop-Off 908-428-9558
Drive wiped & destroyed Written proof available We help carry from your car Local, owner-run since 2011
Deleted ≠ Destroyed. Dragging to the trash leaves your data fully recoverable. We wipe it, then physically destroy the drive.
Simple pricing

Two options. No surprises.

Bringing in the whole computer is the best value — we handle the drive and the rest of the machine.

Best value — we handle everything
Full Computer
$49
per laptop or desktop
  • Hard drive removed, wiped, and destroyed
  • Rest of the machine responsibly recycled
  • Help unloading from your car
  • Printed proof available on request
Hard Drive Only
$25
per drive
  • Drive wiped, then physically destroyed
  • Printed proof available on request
  • Machine recycling not included
New customer offer

Save $20 on your first recycling visit.

DAVE'S COMPUTERS
New Customer · Computer Recycling
$20 OFF
When you recycle 3 or more computers
Terms: New customers only. Offer applies when recycling 3 or more full computers (laptops or desktops) in a single visit. Not valid on hard-drive-only drop-offs. Present this coupon — printed or on your phone — at drop-off. One per customer.
Call Dave · 908-428-9558
davescomputers.com
What most people forget

Your old computer knows more about you than your best friend.

Even after you think you've deleted everything, a person with the right software can pull most of it back in under an hour.

Saved passwords

Every site your browser remembered — email, banking, Amazon, healthcare portals.

Bank & credit card info

Auto-filled card numbers, online banking sessions, statements you downloaded.

Tax returns & SSN

PDFs from TurboTax, W-2s, 1099s. Everything a scammer needs to open credit in your name.

Family photos & videos

Decades of memories, including photos of children and grandchildren.

Medical records

Patient portal logins, prescription info, test results, insurance files.

Email conversations

Years of personal and financial emails, including password resets and account info.

Browsing history

Every site you visited, every search you made — a full picture of your habits.

Saved Wi-Fi networks

Your home Wi-Fi password — plus every café, airport, and friend's house you connected to.

Dragging files to the trash doesn't delete them. It only removes the shortcut. The actual data stays on the drive until something overwrites it — which can take months or years, or may never happen at all.
Here's what actually happens

Three ways to recycle a computer in NJ.
Only one protects your data.

The Town Drop-Off

"Free" municipal recycling

They accept electronics for environmental disposal — that's their job. Drives are not removed, not wiped, and not destroyed. Your computer is tossed in with everyone else's.

  • No data wiping
  • No one accountable
  • Anyone along the way can pull the drive
The Big-Box Tech Counter

Hand it over the counter

Your computer disappears into a back room. Part-time associates — some brand new — have physical access. There's no proof anything was done to the drive, and no way to follow up.

  • Unknown staff handle your drive
  • No written proof
  • You'll never hear what happened to it
Dave's Computers

The same small team, start to finish

Pull up outside and we'll help bring it in — no lifting, no parking-lot juggling. The same small local team that takes your computer also does the data wipe and drive destruction. No shipping chain, no back-room strangers. Want written proof? We'll print you a statement on request.

  • Drive wiped, then physically destroyed
  • We help carry it in from your car
  • Printed proof available on request
Side by side

What you actually get for your money.

A 10-second glance. No marketing speak.

 
Town Drop-Off
Big-Box Store
Dave's
Hard drive wiped before disposal
Drive physically destroyed afterward
Printed proof available on request
Help carrying items in from your car
Same small team handles it start to finish
You know exactly who's accountable
No hidden math

Here's exactly what the small fee covers.

We'd rather show you the line items than hide behind the word "free."

01

Actually wiping your drive

Most "free" options skip this entirely and send your drive off with your data still on it. We run a thorough wipe before anything else happens.

02

Physically destroying the drive

After the wipe, the drive goes into our dedicated crusher — platters physically destroyed — so even a determined recovery attempt comes up empty.

03

A printed record, on request

If you want proof for your files, we'll hand you a printed certificate of data destruction confirming your drive was wiped and physically destroyed. Tuck it in with your tax papers.

04

Curbside help with the heavy stuff

We don't do home pickups, but pull up outside and we'll help bring everything in. No lugging a tower across a parking lot.

05

The same people, start to finish

Our small team handles your machine directly. No anonymous back room, no shipping it off to be sorted by strangers.

06

A real person on the phone

Questions after the fact? Call the shop. You'll get the same people who handled your computer — not a help-desk ticket number.

Curbside concierge

Don't lift a thing.

Pull into the parking lot, give Dave a call, and he'll come out to help carry everything in. Trunk to counter — zero heavy lifting on your end.

Consider it his daily fresh air and workout. Everybody wins.

Call from the parking lot 908-428-9558
Read before you load the car

What we take — and what we don’t.

Computer recycling here is a courtesy service built around our real job: secure data destruction. We’re a small repair shop in downtown Somerville — not a bulk e-waste processor — so a few honest ground rules.

Bring these in

Computers & drives

  • ✓Desktop computers & towersDell, HP, Lenovo, custom builds — working or dead. $49 each, hard drive handled start to finish.
  • ✓Laptops & MacBooksAny brand, any condition. Laptop recycling works exactly like desktops — drive wiped and destroyed, the rest responsibly recycled.
  • ✓Bare hard drives & SSDsSecure hard drive disposal is $25 per drive — wiped first, then physically destroyed.

Bringing 5 or more desktops?

Call or text photos to 908-428-9558 before you load the car — especially if the hard drives are already pulled. We’ll confirm there’s room before you make the trip. Office cleanouts and truckload quantities are more than our small shop can physically take in.

Clean & dry, please.

Old, dead, dusty, half-disassembled — all normal, all welcome. But machines with residue, strong odors, signs of pests, or water damage will be politely declined. One infested tower in a working repair shop becomes every customer’s problem. Your county recycling center is set up to handle those.

Need files off the machine first? Once a drive is destroyed, it’s gone for good — no second chances. If there are photos, tax documents, or QuickBooks files you still need, ask about data recovery before we touch the drive.
Straight answers

Computer recycling in New Jersey — what people ask us.

The same questions come up at the counter every week. Here are the honest answers.

Where can I recycle a computer near me in New Jersey?

Right here. Dave’s Computers is a drop-off computer recycling center at 75 N Bridge St in Somerville, NJ — behind the Bank of America. Folks bring old desktops and laptops from Bridgewater, Raritan, Branchburg, Hillsborough, Somerset, and all over Central New Jersey. Every machine gets its hard drive removed, wiped, and physically destroyed before the rest is responsibly recycled. No appointment needed for one to four computers — just come in during shop hours.

Do I need to wipe my computer before recycling it?

No — that’s the whole point of bringing it to us. Deleting files, emptying the trash, even reformatting doesn’t actually erase a drive; the data is still sitting there for anyone with recovery software. We run a proper wipe and then physically destroy the drive, so there’s nothing left to recover and nothing for you to figure out.

Do you provide a certificate of data destruction?

Yes. Ask at drop-off and we’ll print a certificate of data destruction confirming your drive was wiped and physically destroyed — free, on the spot. Worth keeping with your records if the machine held tax, client, or business files.

Can I drop off just a hard drive?

Absolutely. Secure hard drive disposal is $25 per drive — we wipe it, then physically destroy it, with printed proof available before you leave. Old drives from upgrades, dead external drives, the shoebox in the closet — bring them all.

Do you shred hard drives?

No — we crush them. Every drive is wiped first, then goes into a dedicated hard drive crusher that physically destroys the platters, so it can never spin up or be read again — the same end result as shredding. Our hard drive destruction service happens right here in the shop, by the same small team you handed it to, with printed proof before you leave.

Do you take monitors, printers, or TVs?

No — computers, laptops, and hard drives only. New Jersey’s Electronic Waste Management Act bans TVs, monitors, and computers from the regular trash, and the same law funds free county e-waste recycling for them. Somerset County’s free e-waste drop-offs take monitors, TVs, printers, and scanners — no charge for residents. We stick to the part that actually puts you at risk: the data.

I have five or more old desktops — can I just show up?

Please call or text first — 908-428-9558 — ideally with a couple of photos of what you’ve got. Recycling is a courtesy service and we’re a small shop, so we need to make sure there’s room before you load the car. That goes double if the hard drives are already removed.

What condition does the equipment need to be in?

Clean and dry. Old, dead, or half-taken-apart is completely fine — that’s most of what comes through the door. What we can’t accept is anything with residue, strong odors, signs of pests, or water damage; those need to go to your county recycling center instead. We’re a working repair shop full of customer equipment, and we have to protect it.

What’s the safest way to dispose of an old laptop?

Bring it in whole — don’t try to pull the drive yourself, and don’t donate or toss it with the storage still inside. Laptop disposal here works exactly like desktops: $49 per machine, drive wiped and physically destroyed, the rest responsibly recycled. MacBooks and PC laptops, any brand, working or dead.

Why pay for recycling when the town takes computers for free?

Because free recycling doesn’t touch your data. Municipal e-waste programs are an environmental service — drives are not removed, wiped, or destroyed. Our fee covers the part that actually protects you: pulling the drive, wiping it, physically destroying it, and printing proof if you want it. The recycling of the rest of the machine is the courtesy on top.

📞 Call Dave's — 908-428-9558