When the collection van pulls away with your old computers and monitors, the job is only half done. What happens next determines whether your data is truly gone and whether those materials are recovered or dumped. Here is the full journey your e-waste takes after collection, and why each stage matters.
For most businesses, e-waste disappears the moment it leaves the loading dock. But that handover is exactly where the risk and the responsibility are highest. The data on those devices is still your legal responsibility until it is destroyed, and the materials inside are either recovered properly or they are not. A reputable recycler follows a defined sequence designed to protect both.
After collection, business e-waste moves through five stages: secure transport under chain of custody, data destruction on every storage device, triage for reuse, the physical recycling process of dismantling and material recovery, and finally documentation. In Australia, the treatment process is defined by the AS/NZS 5377:2013 standard, and the national recycling scheme targets a 90 per cent material recovery rate.
At ITC, data is destroyed to the NIST 800-88 standard with Blancco before any device is processed, under an ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified chain of custody, and you receive serialised Certificates of Destruction and Recycling as evidence. Here is what each stage involves.
Chain of custodyEvery item is logged at pickup and tracked from your premises to the processing facility, so nothing is unaccounted for.
Data destroyed firstRecycling a device does not erase its data. Every storage device is sanitised or destroyed before it is processed.
Reuse before recyclingWorking equipment is refurbished or recovered for value, which sits above recycling in the circular economy.
Documented outcomeYou receive serialised Certificates of Destruction and Recycling as proof of compliance under the Privacy Act and your environmental duty of care.
From the moment your equipment is collected to the certificate that lands in your inbox, this is the sequence a certified recycler follows.
Logged at pickup and tracked under chain of custody to the facility
Every data-bearing device sanitised to NIST 800-88 or physically destroyed
Working equipment tested, refurbished, or recovered for value first
End-of-life items dismantled, shredded, and sorted into material streams
Serialised Certificates of Destruction and Recycling issued
This is the stage most people never see, and the one that matters most. Before any device is dismantled or shredded for materials, the data on it has to be destroyed. Recycling a device does not erase its data. A hard drive sitting in a pile awaiting shredding still holds every file it did the day it left your office.
There are two accepted methods, and the right one depends on the device and the sensitivity of the data. Data sanitisation to the NIST 800-88 standard using Blancco permanently destroys the data while keeping the device functional for reuse. Physical destruction such as shredding or degaussing destroys the device itself and is used for high-sensitivity data or drives that have failed.
Only once a device has been through certified data destruction does it move into the physical recycling process. You can read more on our data destruction and hard drive shredding pages.
A well-run process does not shred everything. Equipment that still works is worth more reused than recycled, because reuse avoids the energy and emissions of manufacturing a replacement. After data destruction, working laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices can be refurbished or recovered for value through buyback, returning money to your budget rather than paying to destroy a working asset. Only equipment genuinely at end of life proceeds to material recycling.
Why proper processing matters, in figures drawn from named public sources.
Once data is destroyed and reusable equipment is set aside, end-of-life items follow a consistent sequence so each material can be recovered.
Devices are broken down into major parts. Batteries and hazardous components are removed first for safe, separate handling.
The remaining material is mechanically shredded into smaller fragments to allow the different materials to be separated.
Shredded material is separated into streams, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, plastics, glass, and circuit boards, using magnetic, eddy-current, and density separation.
Separated streams are sent to specialist downstream processors and re-enter manufacturing as raw materials, diverting them from landfill.
ITC processes e-waste in line with the AS/NZS 5377 standard and issues a Certificate of Recycling documenting the responsible downstream treatment of your equipment. Our environmental management is certified to ISO 14001:2015.
In Australia the treatment of e-waste is not improvised. These are the standards and schemes that govern it.
| Standard / Scheme | What it covers |
|---|---|
| AS/NZS 5377:2013 | The Australian and New Zealand standard for the collection, storage, transport, and treatment of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment. ITC processes e-waste in line with this standard. |
| NTCRS | The federal National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, which requires its recyclers to be AS/NZS 5377 certified and targets a minimum 90% material recovery rate. |
| NIST 800-88 | The recognised standard for media data destruction, applied by ITC with Blancco before any device is recycled. |
| ISO 14001:2015 | The international environmental management standard. ITC holds current ISO 14001:2015 certification. |
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | The international information security standard governing ITC's certified chain of custody. |
ITC Asset Management collects, securely destroys data, and recycles business e-waste across Sydney, with certificates at every stage.
Collection and recycling in line with AS/NZS 5377, with material recovery, zero-landfill outcome, and a Certificate of Recycling.
E-Waste Recycling Sydney →NIST 800-88 sanitisation with Blancco, plus physical destruction for high-sensitivity media. Serialised certificate per device.
Data Destruction →Working equipment is securely wiped and assessed for resale, returning value to your budget with data destruction included.
Asset Buyback →Common questions about what happens to business e-waste after it is collected.
After collection under a documented chain of custody, data is destroyed on every storage device, reusable equipment is tested and refurbished or recovered for value, and end-of-life equipment is dismantled, shredded, and sorted so that metals, plastics, glass, circuit boards, and batteries can be recovered as raw materials. In Australia this treatment process follows the AS/NZS 5377:2013 standard.
It should be, and with a proper recycler it is. Recycling a device does not erase its data, so any data-bearing device must be sanitised to the NIST 800-88 standard or physically destroyed before it enters the recycling stream. At ITC this happens first, under an ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified chain of custody, and you receive a serialised Certificate of Destruction.
Australia's National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme targets a minimum 90 per cent material recovery rate from collected e-waste, with recyclers working to the AS/NZS 5377:2013 standard. Reusable equipment is refurbished rather than recycled where possible, which is an even better environmental outcome because it avoids manufacturing a replacement.
AS/NZS 5377:2013 is the Australian and New Zealand standard for the collection, storage, transport, and treatment of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment. Published in 2013 by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand, it sets the minimum requirements for handling e-waste safely and recovering materials while keeping waste out of landfill. ITC processes e-waste in line with this standard.
E-waste contains hazardous materials including lead, mercury, and cadmium that can leach into soil and water in landfill, and devices hold data that must be destroyed under the Privacy Act. Disposing of business e-waste as general waste creates both an environmental compliance risk and a data security risk. See our guide on what e-waste is for more.
A serialised Certificate of Destruction listing each device and its data destruction method, and a Certificate of Recycling for the downstream material recovery. Together these evidence your Privacy Act obligation and your environmental duty of care, and they are what an auditor or ESG report will ask for.
From certified data destruction to responsible recycling and asset buyback, ITC handles every aspect of your e-waste, with serialised certificates at every stage.
