Data Center Decommissioning Services Market Size, Share, Growth and Forecast, 2025-2035

Aging sites and faster refreshes fill retirement pipelines

The global data center decommissioning services market was valued at USD 1.05 billion in 2025 and is projected to increase from USD 1.14 billion in 2026 to USD 2.49 billion by 2035, registering a CAGR of 9.00% during 2026–2035. Spending comes from hyperscale operators, colocation companies and enterprises that pay specialists to de-install servers, storage and network gear, erase or destroy data, resell or recycle recovered equipment and return empty halls to landlords. North America held the largest regional share, 38.0% in 2025, because the region has the largest installed base and the tightest disposal audits. Middle East & Africa is the fastest-growing region at 9.85% a year as new campuses in the Gulf start their first refresh cycles. Accelerator servers now retire faster than general compute, which shortens the gap between projects. The National Institute of Standards and Technology also replaced its 2014 media sanitization guide in September 2025, so many buyers are rewriting disposal contracts.

Which retirement tasks and fees does this market count?

The data center decommissioning services market covers paid work that takes IT equipment and supporting plant out of service. This includes de-racking and removal of servers, storage arrays and switches, on-site or off-site data erasure and shredding, chain-of-custody logistics, remarketing and certified recycling, and restoration of the vacated space. Clients pay per asset, per project or under multi-year retirement agreements.

The scope excludes the resale value of recovered equipment when it is returned to the client, new hardware deployment, construction of replacement facilities and the disposal of office laptops and phones. Value is counted at the service provider level, including labor, transport, erasure software, destruction equipment and reporting fees.

Hardware removal leads while resale and recycling grow

Why does hardware removal hold the largest share?

Based on service, the market is categorized into hardware removal, data sanitization, resale and recycling, and site restoration. Hardware Removal led with 34.0% of 2025 value because every project starts with de-racking, cable removal and secure transport of each device. A 2016 Morgan Stanley project at two retired sites involved about 4,900 devices, including 53 storage arrays holding roughly 1,000 drives, according to DatacenterDynamics. Resale and Recycling grows fastest at 9.71% a year as recovered material gains value. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research put the metals in 2022 e-waste at $91 billion, yet only $28 billion was recovered.

Why do enterprises lead while hyperscalers grow fastest?

Based on client, the market is categorized into enterprises, hyperscalers and colocation providers. Enterprises led with 41.0% of 2025 value because banks, insurers and agencies retire many small server rooms and outsource nearly all of the work. Iron Mountain says its lifecycle services reach more than 90% of the Fortune 1000 in over 30 countries. Hyperscalers grow fastest at 9.73% a year as their fleets turn over sooner. Amazon cut the useful life of a subset of servers from six to five years from January 2025, as The Register reported. Meanwhile, colocation operators handle tenant exits on their own floors.

Old facilities, audits and AI refresh cycles lift demand

Aging sites and workload migrations trigger retirements

Retirement projects rise because a large share of the installed base is old and much enterprise work is moving to cloud regions and hyperscale campuses. Uptime Institute survey data show that facilities older than 10 years make up 48% of sites and hold 38% of IT capacity, according to DatacenterDynamics. U.S. federal agencies closed 58 data centers in fiscal 2021 against a goal of 43, the Government Accountability Office reported in February 2023. DatacenterDynamics also reported that TES opened a 120,000-square-foot plant in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to process hyperscale and enterprise equipment near the largest U.S. cluster. In the Credence Research model this driver adds about 3.8 percentage points to annual growth to 2035.

Certified data destruction raises demand for audited work

Buyers pay for certified destruction because regulators now punish weak disposal. The Securities and Exchange Commission fined Morgan Stanley $35 million on Sept. 20, 2022, after drives from retired sites were resold with customer data still on them, affecting about 15 million people, according to Banking Dive. The National Institute of Standards and Technology then published SP 800-88 Revision 2 on Sept. 26, 2025, replacing the 2014 guide that most contracts cite. Apto Solutions now lists NAID AAA, R2v3 and ISO 27001 certifications, plus memory sanitization for GPU clusters. In the Credence Research model this driver adds about 2.3 percentage points to annual growth to 2035.

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Sustainability reporting favors responsible recycling

Corporate waste and climate reporting pushes owners toward reuse and documented recycling instead of bulk scrap sales. The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 counted 62 million metric tons of e-waste in 2022 and found only 22.3% formally collected and recycled, a gap that auditors now question. Microsoft reported that 90.9% of its servers and components were reused or recycled in 2024, beating its 2025 goal of 90%, according to ITPro in April 2025. Google says it harvested about 8.8 million components from retired hardware in 2024 for reuse or resale. These targets require certified downstream partners and detailed asset-level reports for each project. In the Credence Research model this driver adds about 1.5 percentage points to annual growth to 2035.

AI hardware cycles shorten the time between projects

AI clusters add a fourth source of growth because accelerator servers age out much faster than general compute. An SK tes release dated May 5, 2026, said GPU-dense servers are now replaced in as little as 10 to 18 months, against traditional cycles of four to six years. Hashrate Index reported in April 2026 that used H100 GPUs reached $50,000 each during the mid-2024 shortage, and that a used eight-GPU H100 server still traded at about $150,000 to $180,000 in early 2026. Such values make fast, certified recovery of accelerator hardware worth paying for. Hyperscalers therefore grow at 9.73% a year, the fastest client rate in the Credence Research model.

Buyers consolidate providers as reuse becomes the default

Consolidation shift as lifecycle groups buy specialists

Ownership is consolidating as large records and lifecycle groups buy specialists to cover more countries under one chain of custody. Iron Mountain agreed to buy 80% of ITRenew for about $725 million in cash, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2022, according to DatacenterDynamics. Sustainable Tech Partner reported on Sept. 26, 2024, that Iron Mountain had acquired Wisetek of Cork, Ireland, which has about 400 staff and sites in the U.K., four U.S. states, Fujairah and Thailand. SK ecoplant bought TES for $1 billion in February 2022 and now runs more than 40 owned facilities. As a result, global clients increasingly award multi-country retirement programs to one provider.

Rise of component harvesting and memory reuse

Recovery is moving from whole-server resale toward harvesting parts that can run again in live fleets. Sims Lifecycle Services said on April 25, 2025, that a robotic microfactory now sorts, tests and qualifies recovered memory modules for production CXL systems. Microsoft opened its first Asian Circular Center in Singapore in September 2022, using routing software to send each retired part to reuse, resale or recycling. Data Center Frontier reported in June 2023 that AWS pairs each reverse logistics hub with an asset disposition center and a failure analysis lab. This shift feeds the wider e-waste recycling and reuse chain with cleaner, sorted streams.

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Opportunity in producer responsibility regimes

Producer responsibility rules open room for certified recyclers that can document every retired asset. India's E-Waste (Management) Rules, notified on Nov. 2, 2022, took effect on April 1, 2023, and set recycling targets of 60% for 2023-24 rising to 80% from 2027-28, according to the International Energy Agency policy database. The EU Batteries Regulation brought its waste battery chapter into force on Aug. 18, 2025, which covers the UPS strings removed during restoration. Europe already collects 42.8% of its e-waste formally, against a world average of 22.3%. Providers with registered recycling plants can therefore sell compliance documentation alongside removal.

Opportunity in new hubs in Ireland and North America

New processing hubs near dense clusters create room for providers that can cut transport time and keep data in country. SK tes announced a 36,000-square-foot facility in Shannon on April 24, 2025, offering decommissioning, certified data destruction and recycling for hyperscale sites in Ireland, with more than 25 new jobs. Finnish provider 3stepIT said on Feb. 9, 2025, that it would open a North American headquarters in Texas and a U.S. refurbishment center before 2026. SK tes also lists 21 facilities across 13 Asia Pacific countries and territories. Local plants therefore become a strong selling point in decommissioning services tenders.

Resale swings, rules and weak recycling outlets add risk

Volatile resale prices squeeze recovery margins

Recovery margins depend on secondary prices that can fall quickly once supply arrives. Hashrate Index reported that used H100 prices dropped sharply after their mid-2024 peak and expected used A100 prices to fall another 10% to 15% through 2026. SK tes said in May 2026 that DDR4 memory prices surged in the first quarter and then fell after large inventory releases. Providers that share resale proceeds with clients therefore face uneven project returns and must price removal and erasure work separately.

Weak formal recycling outside Europe limits outlets

Compliant downstream outlets are scarce in many emerging regions, which raises transport costs for certified projects. The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 found that Africa formally recycles less than 1% of its e-waste, against 42.8% in Europe. Operators of new campuses in Africa and parts of Asia must often ship retired drives and boards across borders for certified processing. As a result, local permits, export rules and longer timelines add cost, which providers offset by shredding drives on site before shipment.

Chain-of-custody failures expose owners to penalties

Clients face large penalties when a subcontractor mishandles retired hardware, so they demand costly audits. In the case the SEC settled in September 2022, a moving company without data destruction experience handled the devices, and the vast majority of lost hardware was never recovered, according to DatacenterDynamics. The same review found 42 branch servers unaccounted for after a 2019 refresh. Buyers therefore require serial-level tracking, sealed transport and witnessed erasure, which raise project costs for smaller providers.

Refrigerant and battery rules lengthen site restoration

Site restoration takes longer because cooling and power plant now fall under stricter end-of-life rules. The EU F-gas Regulation 2024/573 entered into force on March 11, 2024, setting rules on recovery, recycling and destruction of fluorinated gases, according to UL. The EU Batteries Regulation added a carbon footprint declaration for large industrial batteries from Feb. 18, 2026, according to ComplianceGate. Contractors therefore need certified refrigerant technicians and battery handlers, which raises restoration bids for colocation exits.

North America leads while Middle East & Africa grows fastest

North America leads on fleet size and audits

North America held 38.0% of 2025 value and grows at 8.55% a year. The region combines the largest hyperscale fleets with strict disposal oversight from banking and federal regulators. Apto Solutions runs full-service facilities in Atlanta, Austin and San Leandro, offering on-site wipe and shred under two-person controls. Finnish provider 3stepIT chose Texas for its North American headquarters in February 2025, which signals how new entrants follow retirement volumes to the United States.

Asia Pacific grows on new campuses and reuse hubs

Asia Pacific held 28.0% of 2025 value and grows at 9.75% a year, faster than both Western regions. Microsoft chose Singapore for its first Asian Circular Center in September 2022 to reuse hardware from its regional cloud sites. SK tes lists 21 facilities across 13 countries and territories, from Kanagawa in Japan to Johor Bahru in Malaysia and Jakarta in Indonesia. India's producer responsibility targets, which step up again from 2027-28, add documented recycling demand.

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Europe is shaped by ecodesign and reuse rules

Europe held 27.0% of 2025 value and grows at 8.65% a year. The EU ecodesign regulation for servers and data storage products, Regulation 2019/424, has applied since March 1, 2020, and sets binding design rules for new equipment sold in the bloc. Europe also generates the most e-waste per person, at 17.6 kilograms in 2022, according to the Global E-waste Monitor. Ireland is a hub, with Wisetek based in Cork and SK tes opening in Shannon in 2025.

Latin America builds a base for future retirements

Latin America held 4.0% of 2025 value and grows at 9.55% a year. Brazil published Provisional Measure 1,318 in September 2025, creating the REDATA tax regime that exempts imported and domestic IT equipment for data center projects, according to Mayer Brown. The regime requires 100% clean or renewable power and at least 10% of capacity for the Brazilian market. Equipment bought under REDATA will reach its first refresh within the forecast period.

Middle East & Africa grows fastest from a small base

Middle East & Africa held 3.0% of 2025 value and grows at 9.85% a year, the fastest rate of any region. Large Gulf campuses opened in recent years will reach their first hardware refresh before 2030. Wisetek, now owned by Iron Mountain, already runs a site in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Africa formally recycles less than 1% of its e-waste, so most certified processing still depends on facilities outside the continent.

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Acquisitions, new plants and a NIST update shaped 2024-2026

Erasure tools, robotics and routing software cut costs

• Certified erasure software overwrites or cryptographically purges drives under NIST SP 800-88 and produces an audit report for each serial number.
• Mobile shredders and degaussers destroy failed or high-risk media on site, and Procurri issues a removal certificate for every item it degausses, crushes or shreds.
• Robotic test cells sort, inspect and qualify recovered memory and drives at volume, as Sims Lifecycle Services does for CXL memory reuse.
• Routing and tracking platforms assign each retired part to reuse, resale or recycling, like Microsoft's routing system, and log sealed, GPS-tracked transport.

Certifications and global reach decide contract awards

Competition in decommissioning services centers on certifications, global reach and the ability to return value from recovered hardware. Iron Mountain built its lifecycle business around ITRenew and added Wisetek in 2024, so it can run multi-country retirements under one contract. SK tes, owned by SK ecoplant, competes on more than 40 owned facilities and new plants in Virginia and Ireland. Sims Lifecycle Services focuses on hyperscale reuse, including memory recovery for CXL systems and its Rack Renew program for open-source servers. Apto Solutions targets regulated enterprises with NAID AAA, R2v3 and ISO 27001 credentials and on-site wipe and shred. Procurri offers physical removal, secure transport and destruction with item-level certificates. Many contracts are bundled with IT asset disposition programs, so providers that can handle both site work and remarketing win larger awards.

Companies profiled and their roles in this market

Proof of erasure and reuse rates will decide winners

Credence Research's view is that the market will be decided by proof rather than by price. Clients remember the $35 million SEC penalty of 2022 and now ask for serial-level erasure reports under the 2025 NIST revision. At the same time, hyperscalers now publish reuse rates for retired fleets, so providers must show how much of each fleet goes back into service. The strongest position belongs to providers that combine on-site removal, certified erasure, component testing and resale. Smaller firms can still win regional enterprise work if they hold recognized certifications and local plants.

Service-fee model checked against hardware retirements

The report uses 2025 as the base year and forecasts to 2035. Market values come from the Credence Research model, which estimates retired server, storage and network volumes and applies service fees for removal, sanitization, recycling and site restoration. Regional, service and client splits within decommissioning services are Credence Research estimates. Inputs include regulator documents, United Nations e-waste statistics, company releases and trade press. No interviews or surveys were used to build these estimates.

AI refresh cycles keep retirement work rising to 2035

Through 2035, demand for decommissioning services will grow as aging enterprise sites close and AI clusters cycle hardware within two years. Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa will gain share as campuses built in the early 2020s reach their first refresh. Resale and recycling will expand faster than removal because reuse targets and producer responsibility rules reward documented recovery. Price swings for used GPUs and memory will remain the main risk to provider margins, so contracts will separate service fees from shared resale proceeds more often.

Note: The depth of individual sections depends on data availability for this market. Volume, capacity, trade and other unit-based metrics are included where applicable.