You’ve upgraded your infrastructure, and now a rack full of older servers is taking up valuable space. Once GreenIT Pickup loads them onto our truck, what actually happens next?
Here’s a transparent look at the journey your decommissioned IT equipment takes after it leaves your facility.
Step 1: Intake and Inventory
Every piece of equipment that arrives at our processing facility is logged and inventoried. We record manufacturer, model, serial number, and general condition. This creates a chain-of-custody record that starts the moment we pick up from your location.
For businesses that need documentation, we provide pickup receipts detailing what was collected, when, and from where.
Step 2: Data Handling
Storage media is one of the first things we address. Hard drives, SSDs, and any other data-bearing components are identified and separated.
As an operational courtesy, storage media may be overwritten, reformatted, or physically destroyed. Businesses with specific data handling requirements should ensure their own data sanitization procedures are completed before pickup. We recommend businesses with sensitive data perform their own certified wipe or destruction prior to handoff.
Step 3: Testing and Assessment
Equipment is evaluated for its potential second life:
- Still functional? Servers, switches, and other gear that pass testing may be refurbished and resold into secondary markets. This extends the useful life of the hardware and keeps it out of the waste stream longer.
- Partially functional? Components like RAM, processors, power supplies, and expansion cards are harvested for reuse as replacement parts.
- End-of-life? Equipment that can’t be reused is broken down for material recovery.
Step 4: Material Recovery
For equipment that’s truly reached the end of its useful life, the recycling process breaks it down into raw materials:
- Ferrous metals (steel chassis, drive enclosures) go to metal recyclers
- Non-ferrous metals (copper wiring, aluminum heatsinks) are separated and recycled
- Precious metals (gold contacts, palladium capacitors) are recovered through specialized refining
- Plastics are sorted by resin type and sent to plastics recyclers
- Circuit boards go to specialized e-waste processors who extract valuable metals
A single server rack can yield surprising quantities of recoverable material — several pounds of copper, traces of gold, and significant amounts of steel and aluminum.
Step 5: Responsible Downstream Processing
We work with downstream partners who maintain responsible processing standards. Equipment and materials are processed domestically wherever possible, and we avoid exporting e-waste to developing countries where it might be processed under unsafe conditions.
Why This Matters for Your Business
Understanding what happens after pickup helps you make informed decisions about your IT asset disposition. When you choose a responsible recycling path:
- You reduce your environmental footprint — Materials are recovered instead of landfilled
- You support the circular economy — Functional equipment gets a second life
- You maintain a clean chain of custody — Documentation shows your equipment was handled responsibly
- You free up space — No more dead servers collecting dust in your server room
Ready to Clear Out Old Equipment?
Whether it’s a single rack or an entire data center decommission, we handle pickups of all sizes across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The service is free for qualifying business IT equipment.
Schedule your pickup today and we’ll take care of the rest.