Retiring and Recycling Robots

Redeploy, resell or recycle

Start with what the robot can still do. A unit retired from a demanding task may suit lighter work elsewhere in the business, serve for training or become a source of spare parts for the rest of the fleet. If it leaves, compare a sale to a dealer or another user with trade-in credit from the maker, and check whether software licences, cloud accounts and warranties can be transferred, since that affects what a buyer will pay. Find out whether the maker will still support the model, and say so in the sale terms. Recycle only when reuse makes no sense, because recycling recovers materials but none of the engineering value built into a working machine.

Wiping data before a robot leaves

A robot can hold more data than its owner expects: maps of your buildings, camera images, Wi-Fi passwords, user accounts, task logs and sometimes recordings of people. NIST Special Publication 800-88 Revision 2, Guidelines for Media Sanitization, published in September 2025, defines sanitisation as a process that makes access to target data infeasible for a given level of effort, and helps organisations match the method to how sensitive the data is. Apply it to every storage location in the robot, including controllers, onboard computers, memory cards and attached devices. Remove the robot from cloud and fleet accounts, revoke its certificates and credentials, and ask any recycler or buyer handling sensitive units for written confirmation of sanitisation.

Batteries need a separate route

Lithium battery packs are often the most hazardous part of a retired robot to store and move. Take them out where the design allows, tape or cap the terminals, and keep damaged or swollen packs apart in a fire-safe area until they are collected. In the EU, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries sets extended producer responsibility, which includes duties on producers to take back waste batteries, industrial batteries among them. Ask the robot's maker or its battery supplier how take-back works in your country before you need it. Transport rules for damaged lithium batteries are strict, so use a carrier and a waste contractor licensed to handle them.

Electronics and the WEEE rules

Most of what remains is electrical and electronic equipment. The European Commission's summary of the WEEE Directive, Directive 2012/19/EU, explains that it rests on producer responsibility, requiring manufacturers, distributors or sellers to contribute to proper disposal and treatment. It prohibits disposal of untreated e-waste and sets minimum recovery and recycling targets for categories of equipment. Ask the maker whether it runs a take-back scheme, use a recycler holding the permits your country requires, and keep the waste transfer documents. Large fixed industrial installations may fall outside the directive's scope, so confirm how your robot is classified before choosing a route. Outside the EU, check the national e-waste rules for business equipment.

Sources and further reading

• WEEE Directive (Directive 2012/19/EU) — European Commission, Circular Cities and Regions Initiative.
  Commission summary of the WEEE Directive: producer responsibility, treatment rules and recovery targets.
• NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 2: Guidelines for Media Sanitization — National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  Current NIST guidance on making stored data unrecoverable before equipment is reused, sold or recycled.
• Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries — EUR-Lex, European Union.
  EU battery law setting producer responsibility for collecting and treating waste batteries, industrial ones included.

Common questions

Can I sell a used robot that still holds company data?

Only after wiping it properly. A factory reset is a start, but follow it with sanitisation methods suited to each storage device, remove the robot from your accounts and keep a record of what was done. For sensitive sites, consider removing and destroying the storage media and selling the robot without them.

Who pays to recycle an old robot?

It depends on the country and the contract. Producer responsibility schemes can place the cost of collecting and treating equipment and batteries on the maker or importer, but business users often arrange and pay for collection themselves. Check the purchase terms and ask the maker about take-back before you budget.