Data Destruction in Atlanta

Where to drop off data destruction in Atlanta

4 local options, verified against listing sources.

• Beyond Surplus Smyrna · Free · Pickup · BBB A+, HIPAA Certified, EPA Compliant
• Ecycle Atlanta College Park · Free · Pickup · BBB A+, HIPAA Certified, EPA Compliant
• Fulton Metals Recycling College Park · Free · Pickup
• Reworx Recycling Smyrna · Free · Pickup · NAID AAA

Fulton County household hazardous waste program

Other local programs

• CHaRM Atlanta (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials)

  Year-round drop-off facility at 1110 Hill St SE, Atlanta. Tue/Thu/Sat by appointment only. Accepts electronics (free for residents, $25/TV or monitor), paint/chemicals (first 20 lbs free, then $0.50-$0.75/lb), mattresses, carpet, Styrofoam, textiles, and more. Book via booking.livethrive.org. No residency check — open to all metro residents.

  Phone: 404-600-6386

• CHaRM DeKalb

  Sister facility to CHaRM Atlanta operated by Live Thrive; accepts the same hard-to-recycle materials. Open Wednesdays 9am-2pm and Saturdays 8am-2pm by appointment only. Document shredding available on Shredding Event days (Atlanta location does not offer shredding).

  Phone: 404-600-6386

• DeKalb County Sanitation HHW Collection

  Free biannual household hazardous waste events at the Central Transfer Station, 3720 Leroy Scott Drive, Decatur, 8am-noon. Accepts aerosols, batteries, adhesives, flammables, lawn-care products, fluorescent bulbs, photo chemicals, art supplies, paint. Open only to DeKalb County residents.

  Phone: 404-294-2900

• Keep North Fulton Beautiful / Johns Creek HHW Day

  Annual North Fulton HHW collection at Johns Creek City Hall, 11360 Lakefield Drive (Saturday, Sept 28 in 2026, 9am-1pm). Pre-registration required by the Thursday before or until cap is reached. Sandy Springs hosts a separate June event at Sandy Springs Youth Sports Complex.

• Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful HHW Days

  Twice-yearly HHW collection days at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville, 9am-1pm. 2026 dates: Feb 7 and June 13. Gwinnett residents only.

  Phone: 770-822-5187

• Keep Cobb Beautiful Annual HHW Event

  Annual Cobb County HHW collection (next event October 2026; specific date posted in September). Cobb residents only.

• Dell Reconnect at Goodwill of North Georgia

  Free drop-off at any Goodwill of North Georgia store/donation center for any brand of computers, monitors, printers, scanners, hard drives, keyboards, mice, speakers, cables. Dell handles downstream recycling. Customers should wipe data first.

• Atlanta Paint Disposal

  Private paint pickup and drop-off service covering metro Atlanta. Drop-off sites at select ACE Hardwares, Benjamin Moore stores, recycling centers, transfer stations. Drop-offs limited to 50 gallons per visit; pickup service available for larger volumes.

  Phone: 404-333-8763

• Call2Recycle drop-off network (Atlanta)

  Free rechargeable and small-format battery drop-off at participating Home Depot and Lowe's locations across metro Atlanta. 1-4 batteries per visit recommended.

• Batteries Plus — Atlanta locations

  Free recycling for rechargeable and single-use batteries plus fluorescent bulbs/tubes at Atlanta-area Batteries Plus stores. Also accepts small electronics (phones, tablets) and ballasts for recycling.

• Global Paint for Charity (Atlanta-based nonprofit)

  Nonprofit that accepts donations of usable latex paint for redistribution to schools, community centers, and facilities in developing countries. Drop-off in Atlanta or schedule a pickup. Accepts unopened and opened gallons that are still usable (no hardening, no oil-based).

  Phone: 855-853-7772

• Ascend Elements (Covington, GA — Li-ion recycling)

  Commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Covington, GA (east of Atlanta). Processes EV and consumer Li-ion batteries for material recovery using patented hydro-to-cathode technology. B2B intake — not a consumer drop-off.

  Phone: 508-936-7701

What to know in Atlanta

Local rules and laws

• Georgia Code Sec. 12-8-28: Lead-acid (automobile) batteries are banned from Georgia landfills; retailers must accept used batteries from customers at point of sale and post the universal recycling notice.
• Georgia Code Sec. 12-8-40.1: Scrap tires banned from Georgia landfills (since Dec 31, 1994) unless shredded/chipped to standard. Private citizens may store no more than 25 scrap tires and transport no more than 10 without a permit.
• City of Atlanta Code Sec. 130-38 (Ord. 07-O-1335): Owners of multi-family dwellings, condos, or townhouses with 6+ units must provide recycling containers (at minimum for glass, plastics, newspapers, aluminum cans); city does not provide multi-family collection — owners must contract a private hauler.
• City of Atlanta curbside rules: Electronics, paint, chemicals, and batteries are prohibited from curbside carts and bulk pickup. Bulk pickup must be requested via ATL311; items cannot be placed at the curb before 7pm the day prior or a citation may be issued.
• Georgia has no statewide e-waste recycling law and no landfill ban on TVs, CRTs, computers, or other electronics — disposal programs are voluntary and run by local governments and private partners.
• Georgia Code Sec. 12-8-22 et seq. (Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act): establishes the framework for solid waste management planning, disposal bans, and recycling programs at the state and local level.
• Georgia's Universal Waste Rule (391-3-11-.16): regulates the management of batteries, recalled pesticides, mercury-containing devices, and lamps to encourage recycling over landfill disposal.

Useful local details

• Atlanta has no PaintCare program — Georgia is not one of the 13 PaintCare jurisdictions (CA, CO, CT, DC, IL, ME, MD, MN, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA). Residents pay per-pound at CHaRM or use private paint haulers; there is no $0.35-$1.60 PaintCare fee built into paint purchases.
• CHaRM Atlanta is by appointment only — walk-ups are turned away. Book via booking.livethrive.org; bring the QR code to the gate.
• CHaRM Atlanta does NOT accept alkaline batteries, car batteries, or propane tanks of any size — common surprises for first-time visitors.
• Live Thrive operates TWO Metro Atlanta CHaRM locations on different days: Atlanta (1110 Hill St SE) on Tue/Thu/Sat; DeKalb (1225 Columbia Dr, Decatur) on Wed/Sat. Document shredding is only offered at the DeKalb site, on designated Shredding Event days.
• CHaRM Residential VIP Membership ($120/yr, tax-deductible) buys guaranteed Saturday appointments, 30-minute early access on Tue/Wed/Thu, one free TV/monitor drop ($25 value), one free mattress drop ($18 value), and discounts to the annual 'A CHaRM'ing Evening' fundraiser at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.
• CHaRM serves the broader metro area without strict residency checks, but the Atlanta 311 article frames it as a City of Atlanta resident service — non-Atlanta residents are welcome but pay the same per-pound fees.
• Multi-county HHW landscape: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb each run their own resident-only events on different schedules, so residents near county lines often default to CHaRM for convenience (no residency check, year-round).
• Atlanta gives single-family residents 12 free scheduled bulk pickups per year via ATL311, but electronics, batteries, paint, and chemicals are explicitly excluded — those must go to CHaRM or a private recycler.
• Georgia is not a PaintCare state, so unlike CO or OR (where paint drop-off sites are everywhere), Atlanta-area paint drop-off is limited to CHaRM (fee-based), periodic county HHW events, or Atlanta Paint Disposal (fee-based private service).
• Atlanta is a regional hub for Li-ion battery recycling: Ascend Elements in Covington processes commercial-scale EV battery materials, and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) runs an EV battery reuse/recycling R&D program. But consumer drop-off for Li-ion is still through CHaRM or retail Call2Recycle bins.
• CHaRM charges residents $0.50/lb for the first 100 lbs of paint/chemicals after 20 free lbs — a linear model that makes small-drop (a few cans) cheap but large cleanouts expensive.

Related Atlanta guides

• Computer Recycling in Atlanta →
• CRT Monitor Recycling in Atlanta →
• Printer Recycling in Atlanta →
• TV Recycling in Atlanta →