Best Buy Canada hopes to recycle more than 60,000 tonnes of e-waste through its Tech it Away program.

Launching on October 19th at four schools in Toronto, Ontario, the program will coincide with Waste Reduction Week. It will also occur in Vancouver, British Columbia and Calgary, Alberta. Between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., residents are encouraged to drop off used or unwanted personal electronics for free at one of the participating schools for safe recycling. A variety of electronics will be accepted including TVs, computers, laptops, printers, cell phones, batteries, and DVD players. A full list available atwww.bestbuy.ca/techitaway.

Participating schools will each receive $8,000 in grants for their environmental efforts. The school in each market that collects the most electronics for recycling will receive $2,000 to fund a student-led environmental initiative.

A new element added to this year’s campaign is the E-Waste Art Challenge. Using select E-waste materials collected, students are challenged to get creative and work together to construct a sculpture. The winning sculpture will go on display at the Best Buy head office in Burnaby, BC. Other sculptures will be showcased at Best Buy stores across Canada.

Participating schools in Toronto, ON include: Lester B Pearson, 150 Tapscott Rd.; Sir Robert L. Borden BTI, 200 Poplar Rd.; Downsview Secondary School, 7 Hawksdale Rd.; and Greenwood Secondary School, 24 Mountjoy Ave.

Last year, the Tech it Away program helped divert more than 53,000 tonnes of e-waste from Canadian landfills. Since its inception in 2009, students involved in the Tech it Away program have helped keep more than 80,000 tonnes of e-waste out of landfills.

Full Circle Wireless, a global leader in extending the usefulness and value of wireless devices, today announced that the company has launched a new solution that will offer the industry’s broadest buyback opportunities for enterprise customers and carriers, as well channel partners. The new service will ensure greater success in closing or renewing opportunities – providing enterprise customers a way to reclaim unrealized revenue for wireless devices far-beyond the typical handset.

“The combination of Full Circle Wireless and Clover is exciting,” says Shelton Basham, CEO for Full Circle Wireless. “Together we will accelerate our vision of enabling global service excellence by integrating highly complementary solution sets, leveraging the industry’s deepest service domain expertise, and serving, by far, the industry’s largest and most impressive client base. Together we are the clear wireless buyback market leader with capabilities to deliver unparalleled value to our clients and partners worldwide.”

While others have focused on gaming systems, DVD’s and cameras at the consumer level, Full Circle built its foundation on cell phones and is now expanding to include mobility solution devices, wireless scanners, modems and other carrier supported, and higher-value, wireless devices. Until now, this type of equipment has been ignored in the buyback arena.

“Our acquisition of Full Circle Wireless is a clear demonstration of Clover’s commitment to building the wireless industry’s broadest and deepest buyback service solution,” says Brian Regan, Executive Vice President of Clover Environmental Solutions, a division of Clover Holdings Inc. “Full Circle’s leading services, in combination with products and services currently offered by Clover, will now enable the world’s leading carriers and companies to best capitalize on opportunities and maximize revenue, profits and customer retention in both the retail and enterprise channels.”

Full Circle is already engaging customer opportunities on a custom quote basis.

Basham continues, “Because this is an acquisition and not a round of investment we are positioned for the long haul to sustain our position as the global leader in wireless buyback at the enterprise level. Our focus is squarely on long term profitability and value vs. short term gains.”As organizations seek to generate cost savings and grow margins through green initiatives, they continue to partner and succeed with Full Circle Wireless for all their wireless device recycling needs.

Electronics recyclers, refurbishers and information technology asset disposal (ITAD) specialists regularly receive loose hard drives for secure processing in preparation for reuse, resale or disposal. With studies showing that around 40% of hard drives reach the secondhand market still containing sensitive data, ITADs need a reliable method for safely and efficiently erasing drives so that customer information is protected.^[1,2)] To help ITADs remove data from loose hard drives outside their original enclosure, Blancco, the global leader in data erasure software and end-of-lifecycle solutions, has joined forces with DestructData, the leaders in secure data destruction. Under this partnership, Blancco’s certified data erasure software will power a series of DestructData erasure appliances for loose drives.

“The technology alliance between Blancco and DestructData is a natural fit, combining Blancco’s industry leading data erasure software brand with DestructData’s extensive experience as the most respected hardware systems integrator in the enterprise data destruction and ITAD marketplaces,” said Michael Lawlor, President of DestructData. “Recognized globally as the standard in certified data sanitization, Blancco’s software solution will be deployed via DestructData’s powerful, customizable hardware platforms to ensure the highest possible data security for ITADs.”

Through the new partnership, industrial grade erasure appliances from DestructData will include Blancco’s certified data erasure software, adhering to all major national and international erasure standards. This series of “Powered by Blancco” systems will be designed, assembled, tested and delivered by DestructData. The systems will remain fully supported with Blancco’s latest erasure software, which provides detailed reports on hardware health, along with proof of erasure to help customers comply with a growing number of industry standards.

“The Blancco and DestructData collaboration builds on the respective strengths of both companies to provide ITADs a safe, high-speed way to remove information from loose drives,” said Markku Willgren, Blancco’s President of US Operations. “ITADs, along with their customers, will also benefit from auditable erasure reports that are automatically sent to a centralized management console or IT asset tracking system.”

About Blancco

Blancco is the proven data erasure solution for millions of users around the globe. As the global leader in data erasure and end-of-lifecycle solutions, Blancco offers the most certified data erasure solutions within the industry. The company serves users across a wide range of industries, including banking, finance, government and defense, as well as IT Asset Disposal professionals. Blancco operates from an extensive network of international offices and partners across Europe, North America,Asia, and Australasia. More information is available at http://www.blancco.com.

About DestructData

Founded in 2007, DestructData is an electronic data erasure solution provider specializing in high security technologies and on-site services that promote both secure re-purposing of assets and audit-friendly physical destruction. The company offers custom hardware appliances engineered specifically for high capacity or complicated applications involving loose drives, multiple protocols, and asset reporting. Headquartered in North Andover, Mass., DestructData also provides a full line of physical destruction and degaussing solutions. More information is available at http://www.destructdata.com.

^[1)]Proceedings of the 8th Australian Digital Forensics Conference, “The 2009 analysis of information remaining on disks offered for sale on the second hand market,” November 2010.

^[2)] Computerworld, “Survey: 40% of hard drives bought on eBay hold personal, corporate data,” February 10, 2009.