IH-R collects everything that leaves a data center floor, from servers and network gear to racks, copper cabling, UPS strings, CRAC units and build-out packaging, across Cincinnati, Dayton and Northern Kentucky. One vendor, one schedule and one set of paperwork.
Decommissioning on your timeline
We stage containers before a decommission or refresh starts: row-side gaylords inside, and a 53-foot trailer at the dock loaded continuously over several days. Swaps within 24 hours, no minimum.
Hard-drive and data destruction
IH-R provides hard-drive and data destruction for retired equipment. Hard drives, SSDs and tape media are destroyed, and certificates of destruction are available on request. Chain of custody runs from your floor onward, with documentation per load in the format your compliance team reports in.
Copper cabling and UPS batteries, graded on their own
Insulated copper cabling is a graded commodity, so we stage a dedicated container to keep it out of mixed e-waste. UPS strings and battery banks go through our industrial battery recycling program on the same account. Bare copper and racking are graded through our bare copper and scrap metal recycling. See all industrial recycling services.
The facilities we work with
From a single server room to a full-floor decom. Jump straight to yours.
- Colocation facilities — cage clear-outs on short notice, mixed hardware
- Enterprise data centers — scheduled refresh hardware, UPS strings, standardized racks
- Server rooms & MDF/IDF closets — small volume, awkward access, still worth collecting
- Telecom & carrier facilities — copper, rectifiers, battery banks, busway
- Corporate IT refresh — desktops, laptops and monitors collected in stages
- Full decommissioning projects — everything at once, on a deadline, staged over days
- Build-outs & expansions — OCC, film and crating from the new install
- Hospital & lab IT — imaging workstations, monitors, compliance trail per load
Universities, financial services, government facilities, managed service providers — if you’re retiring equipment in Greater Cincinnati or Dayton, it’s on this page.
Colocation facilities
We clear cages and tenant hardware on short notice, including abandoned servers, cage panels and cabling pulled from overhead trays.
We take: mixed servers and network gear · Droid and Druid insulated copper cable · Sabot stainless racking · cage panels · PDUs · OCC and crating.
Enterprise data centers
We collect scheduled refresh hardware, standardized racks, UPS strings and CRAC units, with documentation per load.
We take: servers, blades and switches · Barley bare bright copper · Rono industrial lead cells from UPS strings · Elmo electric motors from CRAC units · racks and containment.
Server rooms & MDF/IDF closets
We collect single racks and wall-mount cabinets, even in small volumes with awkward access, on the same pickup as the rest of the building’s material.
We take: single racks and wall-mount cabinets · switches and patch panels · UPS units · Cat5/Cat6 cabling · small-quantity drives.
Telecom & carrier facilities
We collect copper cabling, busway, rectifiers, DC power plant and battery banks, handled according to battery type.
We take: copper cabling and busway · rectifiers and DC plant · Rono industrial lead cells · relay racks and bays · Relay lead covered cable.
Corporate IT refresh
We collect desktops, laptops, monitors and phone systems in stages over several days, so equipment moves out on your schedule.
We take: desktops and laptops · monitors · docking stations · printers and copiers · phone systems · peripherals and cabling.
Full decommissioning projects
We stage containers before the work starts and load a 53-foot trailer at the dock continuously over the project.
We take: everything on the floor — hardware, racks, containment, cabling, power plant, batteries — plus a 53-foot trailer at the dock loaded continuously over days rather than one frantic afternoon.
Build-outs & expansions
We collect corrugated, wood crating, foam, film and steel banding from new installs.
We take: OCC (#11) · wood crating · EPS foam and packaging · stretch film · steel banding · offcut cable and conduit.
Hospital & lab IT
We collect imaging workstations, monitors and lab equipment across multiple buildings, with documentation per load.
We take: workstations and monitors · imaging peripherals · UPS and battery backup · Sabot stainless from equipment frames · cabling.
What we collect from data centers
| Material | Typical items | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Copper cabling | Cat5/Cat6, power whips, harnesses | Droid / Druid insulated copper |
| Bare copper | Buss bar, ground wire, stripped cable | Barley bare bright, Berry No.1 |
| Racks & enclosures | Cabinets, rails, cable trays, containment | Sabot stainless, 200 HMS |
| Servers & network gear | Blades, switches, routers, patch panels | E-waste, permitted processing |
| Drives & media | HDDs, SSDs, tape libraries | Handled under data destruction |
| Power infrastructure | PDUs, transformers, busway | Mixed copper and ferrous |
| UPS & battery banks | VRLA strings, flooded cells | Rono industrial lead cells |
| Motors & CRAC units | Fans, compressors, air handlers | Elmo electric motors |
| Packaging | OCC and film from the build-out | OCC (#11), LDPE film |
One vendor for the whole floor
Most IT asset vendors take the servers and leave everything else — the racks, the cabling, the battery strings, the cardboard from the new build-out. We take all of it, which means one schedule and one set of paperwork instead of four.
Service summary
| Materials | Insulated and bare copper · racks, cabinets and containment · servers and network hardware · drives and media · PDUs, transformers, busway · UPS and battery banks · CRAC units and motors · OCC and crating |
| Equipment | Row-side gaylords and pallets · dedicated cable container · lugger · roll-off · 53-foot trailer |
| Swap time | Within 24 hours |
| Sorting | Mixed loads accepted, no sorting penalty |
| Minimum | None |
| Coverage | 50 miles of Cincinnati, including Dayton, Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana |
| Accounts | Commercial and industrial |
| Landfill | None |
Rebates. We pay rebates on material and pay for metal by weight. Rates depend on grade and volume.
Data center recycling FAQ
Do you provide certificates of data destruction?
Yes. Hard drives, SSDs and tape media are destroyed, and certificates of destruction are available on request.
Can you take racks, cabling and batteries as well as servers?
Yes. We take everything on the floor, including racks, containment, cabling, power equipment, UPS batteries and packaging, on one schedule.
How quickly can you stage containers for a decommission?
Swaps happen within 24 hours of a call. For a planned decommission, give us the start date and containers are in place before work begins. You can also reach us through the contact page.
Plan your decommission with one call
Tell us the site and the start date. We stage the containers, collect within 24 hours and send the paperwork for every load.