Old console: sell, donate or dispose of it the right way

Every gamer ends up piling up devices: last generation's console, a faulty controller, broken headphones, cables nobody remembers and a drawer full of dead batteries. When it's time to free up space, it's tempting to throw everything in the regular trash. But electronics have components that shouldn't go to landfill, and a used console still holds your account data.

This guide lays out a three-step path: protect your data, give a new life to what still works and dispose of the rest correctly, based on Brazil's reverse logistics rules and PlayStation's guidance. Sources are at the end.

Step one: wipe your data

Before selling, donating or disposing, remove everything that's yours from the device. Brazil's reverse logistics law for electronics, Decree 10,240 of 2020, says it's up to the consumer to remove personal data and programs before disposal, and that companies aren't responsible for data left on the device. The same decree says that by disposing of it, you give up ownership of the product and have no right to compensation for the data.

For PS5 and PS4, PlayStation recommends this sequence before passing the console on:

• Write down the serial number and keep it somewhere safe.
• Remove the discs and USB devices you want to keep.
• Back up your data, using a backup file, PlayStation Plus cloud storage or a USB device, and transfer it to your new console if you have both.
• Sync your trophies manually so you don't lose any.
• On PS5, remove the M.2 SSD you installed, if you want to keep it.
• Restore factory settings. On PS5, the path is Settings, System, System Software, Reset Options and Reset Your Console; on PS4, Settings, Initialization and Initialize PS4, with the full option.

PlayStation warns that the reset deletes all settings and data on the console and can't be undone, which is why the backup comes first. On other consoles, check the manufacturer's official support for the steps to restore factory settings and unlink your account.

Step two: can it be reused?

An old console that still works can make someone else happy. A few ideas:

• Sell or trade it. Photograph the device, describe any faults honestly and arrange the handover in a safe, busy place.
• Donate it to family, a friend, a school or a social project that accepts electronics. Ask first whether they can use it.
• Repair it. Controllers with drift and devices with simple faults can often be fixed at an authorized service center, which costs less than buying new and avoids disposal. We have a separate article on controller care.
• Keep physical games and accessories that work with your new console, which may still be useful, as we explain in the article on backward compatibility.

Step three: proper disposal

What's no longer useful goes into reverse logistics, the system in which manufacturers, importers, distributors and stores take products back after use and send them to a proper destination. For household electronics, Decree 10,240 organized this system nationwide in Brazil. The key points for anyone disposing of devices:

• Separate electronics from the rest of the trash and store them until drop-off.
• Hand in devices switched off, at collection points set up for this. The decree provides for fixed or mobile points, and stores take part by receiving products and returning them to manufacturers and importers.
• Dropping them off doesn't entitle you to payment or a refund, and the system is funded by the companies.
• Under the decree, each city covered must have at least one collection point for every 25,000 residents, and the list of covered cities grew year by year from 2021.

To find a point near you, check the reverse logistics management organizations for electronics, which often have point finders on their websites, and your city hall, which may run drop-off sites and collection campaigns. Some electronics stores also have collection bins.

Batteries: their own rules

Removable batteries are outside the electronics decree and follow their own rules. Conama Resolution 401 of 2008 requires stores that sell batteries and authorized service networks to take back used ones, at least of the same brand they sell, and pass them on to manufacturers or importers. The same resolution prohibits dumping them in the open, in unlicensed landfills, vacant lots, rivers and drainage systems, or burning them.

• Collect batteries from controllers and accessories in a closed container, away from heat and children.
• Drop them off at a store that sells batteries or at a collection point. Some supermarkets and pharmacies also have collection bins.
• Don't try to open controller or phone batteries. If a battery is swollen, don't use or charge it, and take it to a service center.

Quick summary

• Back up, sync and restore factory settings before passing a device on.
• If it works, sell, donate or repair it.
• If it's beyond repair, drop it off switched off at an electronics collection point.
• Batteries go to stores and collection points, never to the regular trash.

With these steps, your old console leaves home without taking your data with it and without becoming a problem for the environment. Outside Brazil, check your local e-waste and battery rules.