London Drugs has always been extremely careful with data-carrying electronics brought for recycling, developing an industry-leading process to make sure data is destroyed. Too bad the military minds at The Pentagon didn’t hear about it. During the making of a PBS documentary on e-waste disposal, UBC students were able to source old hard drives that still contained secret information from the US Department of Homeland Security.
And it’s not just military security that’s at risk. Thieves also plunder old hard drives for credit card and identity information they can use on everyday folks like us.
Erasing a drive is not always enough to completely remove data. The only way to be sure is to physically destroy it. That’s why London Drugs has been so focused on data security with their e-waste recycling program. When you bring a data-carrying device for recycling, London Drugs technicians record the serial number, physically damage the drive right there at the store and lock it up. Then, when it goes to their recycling partner, (like Genesis Recycling in BC), the drives are unloaded, disassembled and mechanically shredded, under the watchful eye of a Loss Prevention Officer. All electronics and appliances are also disassembled and separated into marketable materials right at the plant. This ensures your e-waste is not just shipped to third-world countries for scrapping, where toxins and heavy metals are creating a whole new environmental hazard.
So if you want to be sure your e-waste is being recycled right, bring it to London Drugs. Just try to get there before the Pentagon finds out about it.
