Our company offers a unique service that helps people donate their USB flash drives to be recycled and used by others who are less fortunate. The process is simple: people send us their unused flash drives, regardless of their condition, and we make sure to wipe any potential data on them to protect their privacy. After that, we format and test the drives to ensure they are fully functional and can be used by others.

While our approach to recycling may not be traditional, it is an effective way to reduce waste and help those in need. By redistributing unused flash drives, we can provide access to technology for those who may not have the means to purchase it themselves.

When someone receives a donated flash drive, they can use it in a variety of ways. For example, students can use them to store and transfer documents for school, individuals can use them to back up important files, and nonprofit organizations can use them to share information with their communities. The possibilities are endless, and the impact can be significant.

NAND memory is a type of non-volatile storage technology used in USB flash drives. It allows data to be stored even when the power is turned off, making it ideal for portable devices. By recycling USB flash drives, we can help reduce electronic waste and keep these valuable resources in circulation.

According to estimates, there are currently over 10 billion USB flash drives in the world. If just 0.005% of those were donated and recycled, we could provide over 500,000 refurbished flash drives for others to use. This may seem like a small number, but it can make a big difference for those who are in need of technology access.

Our company’s approach to recycling may be unconventional, but it is an effective way to help those in need and reduce electronic waste. By donating and recycling unused USB flash drives, we can extend the life of these valuable resources and provide access to technology for those who may not have it otherwise.

Since our last post, here is a list of folks who’ve sent in to recycle USB flash drives:

• Linda Candy – Chippenhave, UK
• Sara Liu – Fremont, CA
• Chris McGunnigle – Hackettstown, NJ
• Mathems – Houston, TX
• Milton Senft – Gainsville, FL
• Heather Furby – Grass Valley, CA
• Yana Ahn – New York, NY
• Damon Yee – Dale City, CA
• Tiffany O’Toole – Wilmington, NC
• Emajin Emporium – Anaheim, CA
• I.M. LLC – Moroe, CT

If interested in learning how to get involved with this unique USB flash drive recycling program, please visit our “Start Recycling” page. Continue Reading

The following list of people have recently donated their unwanted and used USB flash drives so that other people, who are less fortunate, can have access to this wonderful technology. Take a moment to appreciate those who put in the little bit of work to hopefully, make the world a little better of a place.

• Megan Schneider – Cincinnati, OH
• Claudia Leftherst – Walnut Creek, CA
• Holly Kondras – Terre Haute, IN
• Virginia Scarlett – Flintridge, CA
• Patricia Rodrigues – Littleton, CO
• Krystal Goetz – West Jordah, UT
• Chris Cameron – Braintree, MA
• Ted Stein – Bellevue, WA
• Emporium Warehouse – Anaheim, CA
• “MK” – Seattle, WA
• J Bingel – Venice, FL
• Sherry Woolridge – Pageton, WV
• Jen Roberts – Seatle, WA
• Eric Fredricks – Davenport, IA
• MCW – Geneseo, NM
• Laurin Moran – Denver, CO
• E George – Dallas, TX
• No Name – Beverly Hills, CA
• Diana Guevara – Edgewater, MD
• No Name – Pennington, NJ
• No Name – Concord, MA

Some general information about the elements of a USB flash drive which can be recycled or disposed of properly. This website does not “recycle” USB flash drives in the traditional sense, our goal is to repurpose the flash drives so less fortunate people can have access to this wonderful technology, free of charge.

Flash drives contain a variety of elements that can be recycled, such as plastics, metals, and rare-earth elements. Plastics can be recycled into new plastic products, while metals can be melted down and reused in new products. The rare-earth elements, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and samarium, can also be recycled, though the process is more complicated and requires specialized equipment. Additionally, many flash drives contain small amounts of hazardous materials, such as lead and mercury, which must be disposed of properly.

Old plastics can be recycled into new plastics through a process called ‘chemical recycling’. This involves breaking down the plastic into its constituent parts and then reforming it into a new plastic. The chemical recycling process can be used to create a wide range of new plastic products, from packaging to bottles and containers. Additionally, chemical recycling can help reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills or the environment.

Rare earth elements, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and samarium require specialized equipment to be recycled. This equipment typically includes shredders, smelting furnaces, and leaching systems. Additionally, the recycling process may also involve the use of chemicals and other hazardous materials, which must be handled with extreme care.

Recycling companies must properly dispose of lead and mercury in order to protect the environment and prevent contamination. Lead and mercury must be handled carefully, as they can be toxic if not handled properly. The recycling company should first isolate the lead and mercury, then place them in sealed containers for transport. The recycling company should then dispose of the lead and mercury in a hazardous waste facility, where it can be safely and properly disposed of.

Thank you for those who donated to Recycle USB for the repurposing of USB flash drive media. If you are new to the website, please visit our Mission Statement page about what we do and how our website “recycles” USB flash drives. Our service is not the assumed and traditional “recycle” process most associate with e-cycling electronics.

Most recent donations came from the quality people listed below:

• Ryan Orgera – Alexandria, VA
• Rich Sherman – Santa Monica, CA
• Victoria Kirby – Hoboken, NJ
• Scott Petty – Pittsboro, NC
• ??? – Briarcliff Manor, NY
• Mr Ferdon – Battle Creek, MI
• Coy – Boston, MA
• Angie Reyes – Bothell, WA
• ??? – River Valley, NJ
• Travis Miller – Cambridge, MA
• Donald Hardin – Riverside, CT
• Sheli Radoshitzky – Frederick, MD
• Santesh Kumar – ???
• Laura Labriola – Fairfield, NJ
• Mike Diamantes – Los Angeles, CA

Audimation Services Inc – Huston, TX – Thank you for the large three box donation; however, after testing 10 random drives, none of the drives worked or functioned in a Windows computer; therefore RecycleUSB cannot use these drives for the SugarLabs project. We will coordinate with our local electronics recycling center to properly dispose of the items. We very much appreciate the effort and wanted you to know the final resting spot for your kind gesture.

Since December of 2021 here is the list of people who’ve donated flash drives along with a picture for proof of processing. We wonder, does anyone ever check back on our site to make sure their package was received and processed?

Once again, thankless job for those putting in the effort to package up and ship out USB flash drives to be recycled.

The full list of people who recycled USB drives between our last post and today:

• Allieoop Bricks & Figs – Peoria, AZ – These folks have a unique website which is about buying used Lego blocks. Here is their webpage link for buying used Lego blocks.
• Nora Quinn – Claremont, CA
• ??? – San Rafael, CA
• Mohle Miller – Portland, OR
• ??? – Pleasanton, CA
• Laura R – New York
• Liz Welch – Raleigh, NC
• Esther Shmagin – Minneapolis, MN
• HAQ – Richardson, TX
• Jazz – Hanton, CT
• Joan Schramm – Annapolis, MD
• Stephen Byrd – Willow Springs, NC
• Jasmine Mcgurk – Roswell, GA
• Kristin Knopf – Washington, DC
• Bowers – Marysville, PA
• Weber – Tomah, WI

Thames Lane sent a 12x12x12 sized box filed with two bags of USB flash drives. You can see the large donation from the picture below.

In addition to Mr Lane’s very nice contribution we also have a list of equally as important folks who put in the time and effort to recycle USB flash drives for a good cause.

Here is some interesting information for those who believe in positive synergy. One person who donated a flash drive is Jessica Rienzi. This young lady also publishes books you can purchase from Amazon. If I get my Amazon link correct, this should take you to Jessica’s home page on Amazon with the different books available.

Her Bio:

Jessica Rienzi is a young author that has been writing since elementary school. She has completed her Bachelor of Science Degree from Berkeley College in three years. Now working as a Teacher’s Assistant for special needs kids, she spends most of her spare time continuing to write stories for children and young readers-if not at the gym. Residing in New Jersey, she does many activities such as drawing/creating artwork, and photography. Learning about new things is what keeps her mind going when it comes to creating new stories that everyone will enjoy.

The full list of people who recycled USB drives between our last post and today:

• Thomas Lane – Santa Rosa, CA
• Jessica Del Rio – San Francisco, CA
• Rich Falker – Milton DE
• ??? – Cincinnati, OH
• ??? – Oceanside, CA
• Jessica Rienzi – Garfield, NJ
• Rich Sherman – Santa Monica, CA
• Michael Stevenson – Georgetown, SC
• Danielle Miele – Franklin, TN
• Andy Kunze – Duluth, MN
• South St. Paul Public Library System – South St. Paul, MN

It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway: Thank you!

The charter of this website is to collect unwanted or unused USB flash drives from end-users and turn them into something others can use.

RecycleUSB teamed with SugarLabs.org to provide free flash drives to children without computers. The SugarLabs project provides technology which can be loaded to a USB drive and turn the portable device into a portable operating system.

The SugarLabs technology is based off Linux and is a simple operating system which runs directly from the flash drive in conjunction with using the hardware of a host computer. It is easy to understand the USB doesn’t have hardware such as a processor for computations, a graphics card, ethernet connection and so many other things associated with a personal computer. Thus, the Sugar on a Stick is a personal operating system which uses the hardware of a computer.

The personal operating system gives the child a private computer for their own work. The Sugar on a Stick allows the child to keep their content and information to themself while still providing them with a personal computer which can be used anywhere.

In the United States it is very common for a household to own a personal computer, but in many other countries this is not the case. The portable operating system allows a child without a home computer to have a portable operating system which can be used at a public library, school or internet cafe.

Today, a large number of recycled USB drives have shipped to SugarLabs. These drives have been wiped clean of any data through a secure process, formatted and tested. The GB capacities range from 2GB all the way to 64GB capacity.

This recycle program is done at no charge. To donate or recycle a USB drive is free. The RecycleUSB.com website has teamed with Nexcopy who provides the equipment to securely erase all data on a drive, format the drive and test the drive. Recycle USB then ships the items to the corporate office of SugarLabs (New York) for distribution throughout the world.

Anyone can donate, start here.

Thank you everyone for this month’s donated USB flash drives. We received two packages via FedEx and you really don’t need to send the USB flash drives to Recycle USB by that shipping method. Of course this is your choice, but this is an expensive way to ship. There is no rush because once the drives are received, they are put into a bin for erasing of data, formatting, then read/write testing for quality control – making sure the drives work properly. The USB drives can sit in a bin for up-to a month before you begin the work… so there is no need to rush USB drives.

Big thanks to the following:

• Lydia Richard – Nashville, TN
• Gary Lerude – Nashua, NH
• Cheryl – Stillwater, MN
• Chun Yung – Deep River, CT
• Meredith Slifkin – Somerville, MA
• Goertzel Family – Bellevue, WA
• S. Wong – Chappaqua, NY
• Justin Matthews – Salinas, CA
• Whartan Family – Dallas, TX
• ?? – San Gabriel, CA
• Dignity Freedom Network – Nampa, ID. These folks set the bar for the number of USB flash drives sent in and donated for USB recycling. You can see from the picture below, the three stacks in the back of the red bin, are what Dignity Freedom Network sent in – probably 75-100 flash drives. Dignity Freedom Network also sent a very nice letter explaining what their organization does – honorable work for sure! Thank you.

Thank you everyone for this month’s donated USB flash drives. Looks like the cleaning out of the home office generated some recycled USB drives for the cause. Much appreciated!

Do you see the “thumb” drive in the picture! Crazy what type of shapes, colors and body styles we see!

• Susannah Burrows – Richland, WA
• Shelly Hong – Amsterdam, NY
• Rosman – San Diego, CA
• ??? – Ypsilanti, MI
• Ben & Barleen – Modesto, CA
• Tanaka Bellini – Pine Mountain, CA
• Kristie Kim – Raleigh, NC
• Heather Guiber – Los Angeles, CA (Music for the visual media www.franciument.com)
• Steve Ramstad – Bremerton, WA
• Debbie Eshelman – Highland, CA

It is easy to be lazy. It takes work to do the right thing. With spring pretty much here it appears some folks have done a good dead and cleaned out their desk drawers and office cabinets to make some USB flash drive donations. Recycle USB will take your unwanted or un-used flash drives and put them to good use. We don’t recycle them in the traditional sense… giving to a recycling center, but rather, re-purpose the drives so less fortunate can benefit from your good deed. All drives donated to our website get digitally erased and formatted and passed along to SugarLabs.org. This is a non-profit organization who re-purposes flash drives to be sent around the world to less fortunate children who could really use them. You can learn more from their website: www.sugarlabs.org

Since our last post in late 2020, we have received a large number of drives from 21 different people from all around the country. Here is a lost of those folks: (sorry if we misspelled your name)

• Julianne Waley – Urbana, IL
• Jerome Flores – Washington, DC
• Mr Mrs McIntire – Boston, MA
• Missy Berg – Urbandale, IA
• Thomas Schady – Chicago, IL
• Kristen Kieffer – Carneys Point, NJ
• Erin Meadows – Conroe, TX
• Mr Mrs Openheim – Arlington, VA
• Lucy Vo – San Diego, CA
• Mr Mrs Melton – Plainfield, IN
• Katie Luttringer – Redwood City, CA
• Ria Michelle – Miami Beach, FL (Fashion blogger @ www.riamichelle.com)
• Mary Beth Barrett-Newmand – Evanston, IL
• Peter Henderson – Toronto, CAN
• Karen Tzong – Cerritos, CA
• Chris Reynolds – Burbank, CA
• Andrew Summers – Rockford, IL
• Kim Flaherty – Cansas City, MO
• Kathrine Michael – Washington, DC
• Vibha Agarwala – Safety Harbor, FL
• Lauren Cunningham – Sandy Springs, GA

Twenty people/organizations have donated their flash drives for recycling since our last post in September of 2020. Your time and effort to package up and ship off your unwanted flash drives is much appreciated. As we’ve said before, these drives will be cleaned up (formatted and data erased) from the donor with our flash memory copier equipment and repurpose the drives and sent to sugarlabs.org for re-use.

Here is the list of twenty who contributed since our last post:

• Ravi – San Mateo, CA
• Stephanie Shae – La Palma, CA
• Thomas Hearns – North Ridgeville, OH
• Feltault Family – Topsfield, MA
• K Nuss – Pacific Grove, CA
• Ryan Mitchell – Puyallupa, WA
• Gloria Yehilevsky – Poway, CA – Check it out: www.gloriaymusic.com
• Risan – Menlo Park, CA
• Jamie Schmidt – De Pere, WI
• Lily Kim – San Diego, CA
• Thomas Mielke – Flower Mound, TX (sounds like a nice place)
• Cathie Lee – Laguna Hills, CA
• M.T. Taglang – Bethleham, PA
• Kendra Lewis – Somersworth, NH
• Rooney – Naperville, IL
• Jocelyn Delmar – Kenmore, NY – Check it out: www.etsy.com/shop/paragraphloop
• Daniel Potts – Walton, KY
• Charles Hotchkiss – Everett, WA
• S. McMahon – Biscayne Park, FL