SSD Destruction Services
Data Destruction Inc. destroys solid-state drives and NAND flash media to the NIST SP 800-88 r2 Destroy standard, shredding to a 2 mm particle size with full chain of custody. Degaussing cannot erase flash memory, so we apply physical destruction or verified cryptographic erase, then provide a serialized Certificate of Destruction.
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SSD Destruction Services Service Option
SSD Shredding
When a drive cannot verify a sanitize command or must never be reused, shredding to a 2 mm particle size meets the NIST SP 800-88 r2 Destroy category by fracturing every NAND package.
SSD Crushing
Hydraulic crushing fractures the controller and NAND packages under force, a fast physical fallback for dead or locked drives that cannot complete an erase command.
Cryptographic Erase for SSDs
On verified self-encrypting drives, destroying the media encryption key meets the NIST Purge category in seconds. It is distinct from secure erase, which resets the flash cells themselves.
SSD Secure Erase
ATA Secure Erase and NVMe Sanitize commands instruct the drive controller to purge every flash block, including the over-provisioned cells that software overwrites miss. We verify completion for drives you intend to redeploy or resell.
Why SSDs Demand a Different Destruction Method
Solid-state drives store data in NAND flash cells, not on magnetic platters. That single architectural fact changes every destruction decision. A degausser collapses the magnetic field on a hard drive, so it erases an HDD in seconds. The same degausser does nothing to an SSD, because flash cells hold a trapped electrical charge with no magnetic domain to disturb. Any vendor that markets SSD degaussing is selling a process that leaves your data fully intact.
Physical shredding also behaves differently. Standard hard drive shredders cut to a 1.5 inch or 0.75 inch width. NAND packages are smaller than those gaps, so chips slip through a coarse shredder whole and still hold recoverable data. SSD destruction requires a 2 mm shred or a crush that fractures every package. Data Destruction Inc. sizes the equipment to the medium rather than running flash through an HDD line.
Wear-leveling and over-provisioning add a third complication. An SSD controller spreads writes across spare cells the operating system never sees, so a single-pass overwrite can leave between 4 and 75 percent of data recoverable depending on the drive. The conformant paths are controller-level sanitize commands, cryptographic erase on encrypting drives, or physical destruction. We select the path that matches your data sensitivity and reuse plan.
The Four SSD Sanitization Paths
NIST SP 800-88 r2 organizes sanitization into three categories: Clear, Purge, and Destroy. For solid-state media those categories map to four practical services.
Path | NIST category | What happens | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
SSD Shredding | Destroy | Drive reduced to 2 mm particles | High-sensitivity media, no reuse |
SSD Crushing | Destroy | Controller and NAND packages fractured under force | Bulk physical destruction, often paired with shred |
SSD Secure Erase | Purge / Clear | Controller purges every flash block via ATA or NVMe sanitize command | Drives slated for verified reuse or resale |
Cryptographic Erase | Purge | Media encryption key destroyed on a verified self-encrypting drive | Encrypting drives with documented key control |
Physical destruction is the fallback whenever a drive cannot complete or verify a sanitize command, or whenever data sensitivity makes reuse unacceptable. We document which path was used for every serial number so the choice is defensible in an audit.
Compliance and Standards
Flash media falls under the same disposal obligations as any other data-bearing device. Each regulation below names a destruction or sanitization requirement, and our process maps to it directly.
Regulation | Requirement | Our process |
|---|---|---|
Clear, Purge, or Destroy by media type | 2 mm shred (Destroy) or verified sanitize / crypto-erase (Purge) | |
Render electronic PHI unusable and inaccessible | Destruction with serialized chain of custody | |
Dispose of customer information securely | Documented destruction with attestation | |
Destroy media so cardholder data cannot be reconstructed | 2 mm particle destruction of flash media | |
Sanitize media before disposal or reuse | NIST 800-88 r2 method matched to media type |
The governing standard is NIST SP 800-88 r2, published September 2025, which defers to IEEE 2883-2022 for media-specific sanitization. We cite the current revision only. DoD 5220.22-M overwrite patterns are a historical reference and are not a current standard for flash media.
Authoritative source: NIST SP 800-88 r2 (PDF).
Industries We Serve
Data centers retire enterprise SSDs and NVMe drives by the rack. High write endurance means these drives hold years of customer data, and NIST 800-88 r2 governs their decommissioning. We destroy on a serialized, per-asset basis during refresh cycles.
Financial services must dispose of customer records under the GLBA Safeguards Rule and PCI DSS. SSDs in trading systems, laptops, and point-of-sale hardware carry cardholder and account data that demands documented destruction.
Healthcare organizations destroy SSDs holding electronic PHI under HIPAA 45 CFR 164.310. Imaging workstations and electronic health record servers increasingly ship with flash storage that cannot be degaussed.
Federal agencies sanitize flash media under FISMA and agency policy, frequently requiring witnessed destruction and serialized evidence for every device.
Defense contractors handling controlled unclassified information meet CMMC 2.0 and NIST 800-171 media sanitization controls, where physical destruction of flash media is the auditable default.
Service Modes and Coverage
Mode | How it works | Typical buyer |
|---|---|---|
Mobile destruction at your facility, media never leaves your control | Classified and high-sensitivity flash | |
Sealed, logged transport to a secured facility | Bulk SSD volumes, lower cost per drive | |
Your representative or recorded video observes each drive destroyed | Audit and regulatory sign-off | |
Recurring pickups on a fixed cadence | Ongoing data center refresh programs |
Data Destruction Inc. provides coverage across all 50 US states from seven staffed metros: Dallas, New York City, San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, Irvine, and Washington DC. Large data center projects can combine SSD destruction with data center decommissioning and hard drive shredding under one chain of custody.
What You Receive
Every SSD destruction project closes with a five-document audit package, built so a regulator or auditor can reconstruct exactly what was destroyed and how.
Serialized Certificate of Destruction : the legal record of destruction, listing each drive by serial number and the NIST 800-88 r2 method applied. Provided within 24 hours after the destruction event is complete.
Chain-of-custody log : every transfer from pickup to destruction, timestamped and signed, so custody is unbroken on paper.
Serialized asset inventory : the full list of drives received and processed, reconciled against your own asset records.
Method and particle-size attestation : confirmation of the 2 mm shred size or the sanitize / crypto-erase command verified, mapped to the NIST category claimed.
Recycling-stream attestation : documentation that shredded flash material was routed to responsible downstream recovery, not landfill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you degauss an SSD?
No. Degaussing erases magnetic media by collapsing its magnetic field, and SSDs store data in flash cells with no magnetic domain. Exposing an SSD to a degausser leaves the data fully readable. The conformant options for flash media are shredding, crushing, controller-level secure erase, or cryptographic erase.
What particle size do you shred SSDs to?
We shred solid-state media to a 2 mm particle size, which fractures the individual NAND packages. This is the size IEEE 2883-2022 and NIST SP 800-88 r2 treat as appropriate for flash, and it is far finer than the 6 mm size used for magnetic hard drives.
Is secure erase enough, or do I need physical destruction?
A verified controller-level sanitize or cryptographic erase meets the NIST Purge category and is acceptable for drives you intend to reuse. For the highest-sensitivity data, or when a drive cannot confirm a successful sanitize, physical destruction to the Destroy category is the defensible choice.
Do you destroy NVMe and M.2 drives?
Yes. We destroy SATA, NVMe, M.2, U.2, and mSATA solid-state media, plus embedded flash in mobile and IoT devices. NVMe drives are small enough to pass through coarse HDD shredders, so we route them to flash-rated equipment. See NVMe Destruction.
Can destruction happen at our site?
Yes. Our mobile service destroys flash media at your facility under witnessed conditions, and the drives never leave your control before destruction. Off-site service is available for bulk volumes under sealed, logged transport.
How do you handle self-encrypting drives?
We confirm the drive is a genuine self-encrypting drive with documented key management, then destroy the media encryption key to meet the NIST Purge category. Where encryption state cannot be verified, we default to physical destruction.
LET US CONTACT YOU
DATA DESTRUCTION LOCATIONS
SHREDDING SERVICES DALLAS
1717 Mckinney Ave. Suite 700 Dallas, TX 75202-1236 (469) 949-2840
SHREDDING SERVICES NEW YORK CITY
100 Church Street. 8Th Floor New York City, NY 10007-2630 (516)-990-4096
SHREDDING SERVICES SAN JOSE
2033 Gateway Place. 5Th Floor San Jose, CA 95110 (408) 459-4418
SHREDDING SERVICES SAN DIEGO
350 10Th Avenue. Suite 1000 San Diego, CA 92101-7496 (619) 916-4696
SHREDDING SERVICES LOS ANGELES
633 West Fifth Street. 26Th And 28Th Floors Los Angeles, CA 90071(213) 205-3688
SHREDDING SERVICES IRVINE
7545 Irvine Center Drive. Irvine Business Center, Suite 200 Irvine, CA 92618 (949) 793-7178
SHREDDING SERVICES WASHINGTON
601 Pennsylvania Ave. Nw, South Building, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20004 (240) 266-3056
