Remarketing vs. Recycling

Maximise value from retired IT assets

When IT assets reach end-of-use, what you do next can have a big impact on your bottom line, environmental footprint, and compliance standing. Iron Mountain helps you make the most of every device. With deep expertise in IT asset remarketing and responsible e-waste recycling, we tailor the optimal end-of-life strategy for your retired IT assets maximising financial return and environmental impact, all while ensuring uncompromised data security.

A "reuse first" approach to ITAD

Our reuse-first approach to ITAD delivers measurable value — extending the life and utility of IT hardware, lowering total cost of ownership, and significantly reducing carbon emissions and e-waste.

While secure e-waste recycling remains an essential part of our process, it is reserved for devices without market value or for the physical destruction of data-bearing media, based on your requirements.

You choose the path: maximise value recovery through the secure sanitisation and resale of both data storage media and non-data-bearing devices, or opt for physical data destruction with remarketing limited to non-data-bearing assets.

The Iron Mountain advantage

• Value recovery: Generate financial return from retired assets through resale
• Cost control: Lower the total cost of ownership of IT equipment
• Sustainability: Reduce your carbon and e-waste footprint significantly by prioritising reuse
• Data security: Eliminate end-of-life data exposure risk with ADISA-certified, NIST 800-88 compliant data sanitisation or physical data destruction
• Audit-ready reports: Improve transparency with full chain of custody and serialised certificates of destruction
• Multi-channel remarketing: Maximise value recovery with access to global buyers and marketplaces

We help you prioritise remarketing when it makes sense—maximising value and sustainability—while ensuring devices that require recycling are handled responsibly and securely.

ITAD step-by-step

1) Logistics & Chain of Custody

Iron Mountain's own logistics team and fleet picks up your assets, securely transporting them to our facilities via secure trucks equipped with GPS tracking and patented security features.

2) Receiving

Iron Mountain scans and logs the assets upon arrival at our secure facilities.

3) Data destruction

Data is securely and completely erased using NIST 800-88 compliant sanitisation software. Optional physical shredding of data bearing devices is available.

4) The Path to Value

For Reusable Assets:

• Refurbishment: Assets are tested, graded and refurbished.
• Remarketing: Value recovery is maximised through multiple resale channels including wholesale and direct-to-consumer ecommerce.
• Reporting: Customer receives settlement report, audit report and certificate of destruction as evidence of secure data destruction.

For Assets Not Suitable for Reuse:

• Physical destruction: All data is physically destroyed and hardware is dismantled and sorted into component materials.
• Recycling: Assets are recycled in accordance with all laws, regulations, and industry best practices.
• Reporting: Customer receives audit report and certificate of destruction as evidence of secure disposal.

Remarketing vs. recycling comparison

Feature	Remarketing	E-Waste Recycling
Value Recovery	Revenue generated from resale	No financial return
Cost Control	Remarketing proceeds help offset the cost of ITAD services and lower total cost of ownership of IT equipment	Pay in full for ITAD services received
Certified Data Destruction	Included prior to resale via data sanitisation or physical data destruction	Physical destruction included
Sustainability	IT asset reuse delivers as much as 20X the greenhouse gas avoidance of e-waste recycling, plus landfill diversion and energy savings	Landfill diversion, GHG avoidance, and energy savings
Environmental Reporting	Provided	Provided
Audit-Ready Reporting	Provided	Provided
Secondary Market Access	Global remarketing channels	Not applicable