Where to donate electronics and computers in Kitchener–Waterloo

Under the Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulation, producers of information technology, telecommunications and audio-visual equipment have been individually accountable since 1 January 2021 for collecting and reusing, refurbishing or recycling their products, and must ensure consumers can drop off covered equipment free of charge at each site in their collection system. The Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority is the regulator. The previous Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment program ended on 31 December 2020.

The regulation covers equipment whose primary purpose is collecting, storing, processing, presenting or communicating information, sounds and images, plus supporting peripherals, cables and charging equipment. It excludes small and large appliances and power tools.

The program lists 25-plus categories including kitchen countertop appliances, floor care, garment care, power tools, personal care and beauty, exercise machines, medical and monitoring equipment, e-bikes and e-scooters, and musical instruments. The Display Devices category expressly includes cathode ray tube televisions and monitors. Computer peripherals cover keyboards and mice, IT and telecom equipment covers routers and modems, and cables are listed as accepted when bundled with a computer. The FAQ states residents and businesses can drop off unwanted electronics free of charge.

EPRA states that consumers and businesses are responsible for ensuring all personal data is removed from their devices before bringing them to a drop-off location. Its pre-drop-off guidance is to deactivate the device's account service, clear all personal information, and remove the SIM card, and it directs people to manufacturer documentation, erasure software, or expert help. EPRA requires its processors to protect data but does not accept responsibility for information left on a device.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security's ITSP.40.006 states that a single overwrite pass is effective for modern hard disk drives, but that overwriting and secure erase processes are not suitable for most flash-based devices such as solid-state drives, because wear-levelling features prevent tools from reaching all memory. Cryptographic erase — destroying the encryption key — is identified as suitable for encrypted hard drives, solid-state drives and other flash storage, provided encryption was in use throughout the device's life. Physical destruction should be preceded by best-effort encryption or erasure, so that data cannot be recovered from fragments.

Microsoft recommends Reset this PC with Remove everything and the data erasure option enabled before donating, recycling or selling, describing it as removing files and cleaning the drive and taking an hour or two. Microsoft also states that this consumer-targeted erasure does not meet government and industry data erasure standards.

Apple's instructions are to sign out of iCloud and then run Transfer or Reset, Erase All Content and Settings. The same page states that when you erase the device, Find My and Activation Lock turn off, and that if Find My was turned on you might need to enter your Apple Account and password — so the account password, not the order of operations, is what determines whether the device can be cleared. If Find My was left on and the device is gone, the owner can sign in at icloud.com/find, select the device, erase it, then remove it from the device list. If the device is offline, the erase begins the next time it connects.

Apple requires legal documentation before it will assist with a deceased person's account. This generally includes a death certificate, and might also require a court order. A Legacy Contact access key, if one was set up, is the simplest route and may be filed with estate papers. Apple states that after a Legacy Contact request or an account deletion request is completed, Activation Lock is removed automatically.

Apple's Activation Lock page states that if you need help removing Activation Lock and have proof of purchase documentation, you can start an Activation Lock support request. The page does not set out what that documentation must contain, so the criteria are whatever Apple applies through the request process — do not assume a particular receipt or a photograph of the device will qualify.

EPRA states it is fulfilling this role on behalf of obligated stewards in eight provinces: British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In Ontario it operates inside the individual-producer-responsibility regime that the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority regulates. Alberta's program is administered by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority and Newfoundland and Labrador's by the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board. EPRA does not operate in the territories.

The Northwest Territories runs depots including Yellowknife, N'Dilo, Dettah and Hay River, with an expanded list of more than 500 products across seven categories: small appliances and lighting, audio visual, telecom devices, power and air tools, games, toys and music, lawn and garden, and solar panels. Yukon operates a consumer-funded electronics recycling program funded by fees at point of purchase. Nunavut has no regulated electronics stewardship program. Whether a tube television is accepted, and at what cost, could not be confirmed at depot level for either territory, so confirm with the specific depot.