Recycling, Disposing or Donating a Used Computer in Wright County, Minnesota

When your computer becomes obsolete and you decide to upgrade to a new machine, disposing of your old computer at a recycling facility helps the environment and reduces clutter in your home. Residents of Wright County, Minn., can take advantage of the Wright County Compost & Recycling Facility to safely dispose of their old computers. Before disposing your computer, back up any necessary data on a disk, thumb drive or external hard drive, and purge all data from the hard drive.

Recycling or Disposing Your Computer in Wright County, Minnesota
First, you'll want to make a phone call to the Wright County Compost & Recycling Facility at 763-682-7338 to schedule an appointment. Tell the associate that you wish to bring in your old computer for disposal. If you're bringing in more than one computer, let the associate know. The county will not take your computer without a scheduled appointment.

Then, on the date and time of your appointment, go to the facility, located at 505 County Road 37 NE, Buffalo, MN 55313. Show the guard your photo ID and notify him of your appointment. The guard will briefly inspect your vehicle to verify that you will not be disposing of any materials other than the computer. The guard also verifies that you are indeed a resident of Wright County. Do not have someone else dump your computer off at the facility if he or she is not a resident. This facility will turn away non-residents. (This applies to almost all Minnesota recycling facilities-you must be a resident of the county in which the facility is located in order to dispose of hazardous materials).

Pay the computer disposal fee. As of September 2010, Wright County Compost & Recycling Facility charges $20 for each computer disposed. The facility accepts cash or checks. After paying your fee, the guard will open the gate. Drive into the Wright County Compost & Recycling Facility building and dispose of your computer in the designated bin. In my experience, the facility starts to get crowded during the late morning hours on weekends. Late March and early April are also times when the facility experiences large crowds . You may find yourself in a long line if you visit during peak times. If you can make it out to the facility in the daytime hours during the week, you can avoid the crowds.

Donating your old computer in Wright County, Minnesota
If you're interested in donating your old computer in Wright County, Minnesota, you can donate it to a school or charity. Contact one of the Wright County schools for more information. Typically, the elementary schools or specialty elementary schools in this county are more interested in getting an old computer. You can also donate the computer to a Savers, Unique Thrift Store, Goodwill or Arc Value Village--several locations of these thrift stores are located within Wright County. The county also offers occasional "community drives" for disposing of old computers and other electronic items. Check the local Sun newspaper, city mailings and government websites for specific dates and times of such events.