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RECYCLICTECH

United Kingdom · original

Erase or physical destruction — which UK GDPR job is which?

UK organisations ask “wipe or shred?” as if one answer wins. It does not. Erase keeps residual value when the drive can be sanitised to NIST SP 800-88. Physical destruction is for failed media, or when your policy forbids reuse. RecyclicTech will not certify a factory reset. If erase fails, that serial is destroyed and the exception sits on the same file — not sold as an upgrade.

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Retired London enterprise IT prepared for WEEE-compliant ITAD collection

What to take from this page

  • Erase (Clear/Purge) is the default when the media can be sanitised and reuse is allowed.
  • Destroy is for failed drives or a written “no reuse” brief.
  • Factory reset is not either method.
  • The certificate names the method per serial. A recycling ticket names neither.

What NIST SP 800-88 actually distinguishes

Clear, Purge, Destroy. RecyclicTech uses that vocabulary on the certificate so an auditor does not have to decode “wiped”. Clear or Purge is erase. Destroy is physical. The assessment chooses. We do not print IEEE 2883, HMG IS5 or ADISA as if they were our seals.

When erase is the job

The drive is healthy, the estate allows remarketing, and you want residual value after sanitisation. That is most corporate laptop and server lots. The serial is certified erased, then tested. What still has a market is graded. What does not goes WEEE.

When destroy is the job

The media fails erase, is physically damaged, or your policy says no reuse — finance, health, or a board minute. Destroy is instructed in the assessment, not invented at the depot. Witnessed on-site destruction is a scoped option, not a default we advertise as a London plant we do not run.

What we will not certify

A factory reset, a format, BitLocker “just delete the key and recycle”, or a skip. Those are not NIST SP 800-88 methods. RecyclicTech will decline the line rather than print a certificate that would not survive an audit.

Official sources

Written 2026-08-28. Not a paraphrase of the pages currently ranking for this query.

Questions

Straight answers.

Is shredding more GDPR-compliant than wiping?+

No. Both can be compliant when documented. GDPR asks for appropriate measures and proof. RecyclicTech names the method per serial. Shredding unused saleable drives is waste, not extra compliance.

What if a drive fails erase?+

It is destroyed. The exception is on the same file as the rest of the lot. We do not invoice a second “premium” certificate for the method that actually ran.

Do you certify a factory reset?+

No.

Can we mix erase and destroy in one collection?+

Yes. The assessment splits the lot. Each serial carries its own method on the certificate.