RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 16, 2013) - In the 1980s, London Drugs was one of Canada's first retailers to offer its customers the opportunity to recycle plastic shopping bags. Since then, recycling solutions and the list of items and materials that London Drugs recycles has grown substantially - now more than 74 per cent of the company's waste is recycled or repurposed, instead of going to landfill.
Since the 2008 launch of London Drugs' educational 'What's the Green Deal' program and the support from its staff and customers, London Drugs now tallies more than 42 million pounds of materials recycled including: Styrofoam, batteries, computers, televisions, cell phones, paper, plastic, cardboard, and metals.
"London Drugs believes in contributing positively to the communities we serve, as we have since 1945," explains Clint Mahlman, senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer, London Drugs. "By providing leadership in the retail industry and education for our staff and customers, we are making a difference in everyone's journey towards more sustainable options and lessening the impact to our environments."
"Our 'What's the Green Deal?' program has received an enthusiastic response in recent years," added Mahlman. "More and more customers are bringing in their product packaging, used batteries, electronics, and other recyclable goods. During Earth Month, we hope consumers become even more conscious of proper waste disposal and options for products with less impact on the environment."
Green Facts from London Drugs
London Drugs' overall waste diversion rate rose from 67% in 2011 to 74% in 2012. And individual stores have advanced even further with a chain-wide goal for all London Drugs stores to achieve 95% waste diversion by 2015:
1. The Oliver Square West store in Edmonton posted a 93% recycling rate.
http://www.greendeal.ca/meet-the-green-deal-team-store-45-manager-perry-lubberding-gets-an-a-for-recycling-93-waste-diversion
2. The Olympic Village Store in Vancouver has achieved a 96% recycling rate.
http://www.greendeal.ca/our-most-sustainable-london-drugs-store-yet
London Drugs' own internal waste-management has resulted in reduced garbage disposal costs, showing that sustainability is also good for the bottom line.
One of the only major retailers in the country to accept Styrofoam for recycling (from packaging purchased in our stores) London Drugs is also the first retailer in North America to offer drop-off recycling for BRITA water filters. All expanded polystyrene from London Drugs is sent to Genesis Recycling in Langley BC, where it is compressed for remanufacture as polystyrene.
London Drugs recycles responsibly. TVs, computers, VCRs, printers and other electronics are shipped to either Genesis Recycling (BC) or GEEP (Alberta, Sask. & Man.) where they are separated into components such as plastic, glass, circuit boards, tubes, and various metals. Non-toxic materials are sorted and bundled for sale as commodities for remanufacture. Circuit boards and TV tubes are sent to North American smelters such as TECK, in Trail, BC, where they are safely melted down and their precious metals recovered.
To encourage a longer life for items that can be reused, London Drugs also works with various organizations such as FreeGeek and Computers for Schools. These not-for-profit groups help repurpose workable computers that are donated for recycling, providing machines and training to those who may otherwise not have access to them.
Our newest recycling program is another industry first and allows customers to recycle their candy bar wrappers and beauty packaging, managed through Terracycle, with support from Nestle and Garnier. From our drop-off boxes in-store, the materials are processed in Portland, PA. Materials are shredded, melted and extruded into plastic pellets for use in new products like recycling bins, watering cans, flower pots and benches.
In addition to the major recycling facets of What's the Green Deal, the program identifies more than 150 products on our shelves that have environmentally-preferable benefits or certifications.
Here are London Drugs top tips for reducing your waste footprint:
1) Consider the items carefully before you purchase. Buy quality items that will last, have greater efficiency or can be repaired instead of disposed of. Select items that come with less packaging.
2) Reuse items whenever possible and consider donating old working electronics to certified community groups.
3) Remove packaging from products, (such as Styrofoam), and immediately set them aside for recycling or leave at the store for immediate recycling.
4) Look for items that are third-party certified, such as BC Certified Organic, USDA Organic, Canada Organic, Certified Fair Trade, Transfair, and Energy Star.
5) Designate an area in your home to collect items for recycling, such as batteries, used compact fluorescent bulbs, and plastic. Make a habit of bringing these items to London Drugs on your next shopping trip if your municipality does not offer curbside recycling.
6) Use your own shopping bags when possible. If you do use plastic bags, they can also be recycled at London Drugs.
7) Educate yourself on options. There are wonderful resources on line, and you can start with www.greendeal.ca or @WTGreenDeal
What can you recycle at London Drugs?
| * Electrical and Electronic goods (TVs, VCRs, computers, monitors, printers etc) |
| * Small Appliances |
| * Styrofoam, plastic and cardboard packaging from our products |
| * Cell phones, PDA and rechargeable batteries |
| * Alkaline Batteries |
| * Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL's) and fluorescent light tubes up to 4-foot lengths |
| * Disposable cameras |
| * Ink jet cartridges |
| * Laser cartridges |
| * Metal film canisters |
| * Plastic bags |
| * Pop bottles and cans (BC only) |
| * Insurance plastic folders |
| * Laser cartridges |
| * Brita water filters |
| * Candy bar and cosmetic packaging |
| * Soda stream containers |
| * Toys |
For more information on London Drugs and its Green Deal initiatives, please visit www.greendeal.ca.
About London Drugs - Founded in 1945, B.C.-based London Drugs has 77 stores in more than 35 major markets throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba including its online store www.londondrugs.com. London Drugs offers consumers a range of products from digital cameras and cosmetics to computers and televisions. Renowned for its creative approach to retailing, the company employs more than 7,500 people with pharmacy and health care services being the heart of its business. Committed to innovation and superior customer service, London Drugs has established itself as a reputable and caring company and continues to position itself for future growth and development. www.twitter.com/LondonDrugs www.facebook.com/LondonDrugs
Contact Information:
Wendy Hartley
1-604-817-2758
Wendy@HartleyPR.com / @WendyHartley on Twitter
www.londondrugs.com