Every Industry.City to Suburbs.
Whether you're a small home office or a Fortune 500 company, we can service all aspects of your e-waste needs. Experienced staff for every project - from full server room dismantling and IT Asset Recovery down to TV recycling.
MicroAnt serves healthcare systems, government agencies, financial and legal firms, education, and corporate IT departments throughout Chicago and the Midwest, all backed by R2v3-compliant recycling. Regulated engagements add HIPAA-aligned handling where required, NIST SP 800-88 data sanitization, and audit-ready Certificates of Data Destruction for a defensible chain of custody.
Industries We Serve
Healthcare
Hospitals, clinics, and health systems trust us with data destruction processes designed to support HIPAA requirements. We handle everything from workstations to imaging equipment with certificates of data destruction for every asset.
Banking & Finance
Financial institutions need documented disposal processes that support GLBA and FACTA requirements. Our chain of custody and serial-number-level certificates satisfy internal audit requirements and regulatory examiners.
Telecommunications
Telecom companies decommission enormous volumes of networking and switching equipment. We handle server room teardowns, copper recovery, and certified destruction of drives and storage arrays.
Technology
Tech companies retiring hardware generations need fast, secure, and well-documented ITAD. We provide asset-level reporting with remarketing options that can offset disposal costs.
Manufacturers
Manufacturing facilities accumulate control systems, PLCs, industrial computers, and networking gear. We handle industrial-scale pickups including server room decommissions.
Government
Federal, state, and municipal agencies require disposal processes aligned with FISMA and NIST SP 800-88. Our chain of custody documentation, serial-number-level manifests, and certified destruction methods are built for government audit requirements.
Legal
Law firms and legal departments handle privileged, confidential client data on every workstation. We provide documented destruction with full chain of custody - so attorney-client privilege stays protected at end-of-life.
Corporate IT
Enterprise and Fortune 500 IT teams across the Chicago metro trust MicroAnt for large-scale decommissions - technology, media, automotive, and beyond. Enterprise SLAs, national logistics coordination, and dedicated account management available.
Small Business
Small businesses have the same data security obligations as enterprises, with fewer resources to manage them. Our no-fuss pickup model makes compliance easy for businesses of any size.
Residential
Chicago-area residents can drop off electronics at our partner location or schedule a residential pickup. We accept computers, TVs, appliances, and all types of consumer electronics.
Education
School districts and universities cycle through large quantities of devices on tight budgets. We offer volume pricing for educational institutions and accept all ages of equipment.
How We Help Healthcare Organizations
From a single clinic retiring a handful of workstations to a multi-campus health system decommissioning an entire imaging department, our process is designed to support HIPAA obligations at every step.
Scheduled, Secure Pickup
A uniformed technician arrives on-site within a scheduled window. Assets are tagged and inventoried at your location before leaving the building. No assets leave the premises without a chain-of-custody manifest you sign off on.
Verified Data Destruction
Every drive undergoes certified wiping (NIST 800-88) or physical shredding, depending on sensitivity level. You choose the method. The process is logged at the serial-number level so your compliance officer has an unbroken audit trail.
Certificate of Data Destruction
You receive a formal Certificate of Data Destruction listing each asset by serial number, destruction method, date, and technician. This is the document your HIPAA auditor or OCR investigator will ask for - it's ready before we leave.
Compliance context
HIPAA's Security Rule (45 CFR § 164.310(d)) requires covered entities to have documented policies for the disposal of electronic PHI. The Certificate of Data Destruction we provide, combined with our signed chain-of-custody manifest, gives you the written documentation that satisfies this requirement. We are not a legal or compliance advisor - coordinate with your privacy officer to confirm this meets your organization's specific policies.
How We Help Government Agencies
Federal, state, and municipal agencies face strict documentation requirements under FISMA and NIST SP 800-88. Our disposal workflow is built around the audit record, not as an afterthought.
Pre-Pickup Asset Manifest
Before pickup day, we coordinate a complete asset manifest with your IT team. Every device is documented by make, model, serial number, and data classification tier so nothing leaves the building unaccounted for.
NIST SP 800-88 Destruction
Data destruction follows the NIST SP 800-88 guidelines (Clear, Purge, or Destroy) matched to each media type. Solid-state drives, spinning HDDs, and removable media each receive the appropriate method. All actions are logged per-device.
Agency-Ready Audit Package
You receive a signed destruction certificate, serial-number-level manifest, and a chain-of-custody log - the three documents most commonly requested during a FISMA audit or IG inspection. Delivered digitally and in print.
Compliance context
FISMA requires agencies to implement media sanitization consistent with NIST SP 800-88 for all federal information systems. Our per-device destruction logs and signed certificates are formatted to satisfy the documentation requirements typically reviewed during Inspector General audits and ATO (Authority to Operate) renewals. Consult your agency's ISSO or CIO for specific applicability to your systems.
How We Help Law Firms & Legal Departments
Every workstation in a law firm holds privileged client communications and confidential matter files. Our legal-sector workflow treats the chain of custody with the same seriousness a court clerk handles evidence.
Discreet, Firm-Side Pickup
Our technicians work within your building's security protocols - badging, escorted access, after-hours windows. Assets are catalogued in a locked staging area and never commingled with other clients' equipment during transport.
Full Hard-Drive Destruction
We default to physical shredding for legal clients - not just wiping. Destroyed drives are bagged individually by serial number so you have physical confirmation that each device is unrecoverable. The shredding is witnessed and logged.
Confidentiality-Documented Certificate
Your Certificate of Data Destruction includes a confidentiality clause and lists each drive serial number alongside the destruction date, method, and technician ID. This goes into your client file and matter management system as proof of proper disposition.
Why it matters
ABA Model Rule 1.6 requires lawyers to make reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosure of client information - including at device end-of-life. Bar ethics opinions in multiple jurisdictions have specifically cited hard drive disposal as an area requiring documented safeguards. Our destruction certificates and chain-of-custody logs provide the paper trail your ethics counsel will want on file. We've worked with AmLaw 100 firms and large in-house legal departments across Chicago and the Midwest.
Full-Scale Project Capabilities
We own our own equipment - shredders, forklifts, IT staff, data wiping stations, and a retail division. This means we can handle everything from a single desktop to a full data center decommission without subcontracting.
Part of the STS Recycling Family. All electronics are processed through STS Electronic Recycling, Inc.'s R2v3-compliant facility.
- Server room dismantling & decommission
- Full office IT liquidation
- Data center asset recovery
- Fleet device retirement
- Warehouse-scale e-waste cleanouts
- Ongoing scheduled pickup programs
Industries in Our Network
Ready to Schedule a Pick Up?
Call us at 866-770-2650 or submit the form and we'll typically respond within 1 business day.