February 11th, 2015
When your battery’s low
And your screen’s getting dim
And your blow dryer just won’t blow
If you’re starting to sag
Like an old plastic bag
And your laptop’s running too slow
Don’t be too rash
Don’t jump for the trash
Or toss it into the sea
Head for a place
Where recycling’s embraced
And you can drop it all off for free
Then go make some time
You’re still in your prime
Find a heart that’s pure and true
Because love is the stuff
You can’t recycle enough
Even if it’s brand new
December 3rd, 2014
More and more people are making the switch to energy-efficient LED holiday lights, but even they still need recycling sometimes, as wiring can still crack or break. So if they don’t work, DON”T THROW THEM OUT! Bring your old strings of lights down to London Drugs for responsible recycling, and make sure all those valuable raw materials don’t end up in the landfill.
While you’re there you can check out the new ElfLight – a system that projects thousands of red and green lights on to your house without the need for ladders or wiring. ElfLight comes with 25ft of cord and a remote with timer. It’s a great way to decorate with less materials and hassle.
Because Christmas should always be the real Green (and Red!) Deal.
October 24th, 2014
The lights flashed and the stadium rocked as 17,000 world-changing teens welcomed London Drugs’ COO Clint Mahlman to the Rogers Arena stage. The event was We Day Vancouver, part of an 11 city tour welcoming kids from all around North America, who have earned their tickets through helping others.
“Don’t wait until tomorrow to make an impact,” Clint said, “I’m challenging you as leaders, to join London Drugs and become Green Heroes, and through your actions, take care of the planet… so it can take care of you.”
The cheering crowd then watched our latest What’s the Green Deal video, playing with full concert sound, showing how everyone can become Everyday Green Heroes – recycling beyond the blue box, Bringing Back the Pack and telling the world.
Our Green Deal team was also on site, encouraging people to tweet using the hashtag #LDGreenHeroes for a chance to win a London Drugs gift card.
London Drugs sponsorship was just part of a star-studded day that included appearances by Orlando Bloom, Mackelmore and Selena Gomez, and musical perfomances by Marianas Trench and Jennifer Lopez.
Created by Craig and Marc Keilberger, We Day is now recognized around the world for empowering change, and since 2007 has raised over $37 million for more than 1000 worthy causes.
It was an incredibly inspiring day, energizing our team and empowering us to spread the #LDGreenHeroes message even further.
Are YOU ready to take on the challenge and be an Everyday Green Hero? Do it now!
Because YOU are the REAL Green Deal!
October 1st, 2014
On September 20, 2014 the communities of Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak participated in a Community Cleanup sponsored by The City of Calgary and London Drugs.
The parking lot of London Drugs Royal Oak was turned into a recycling party with music playing, a Community Appreciation BBQ serving up hot dogs, and a steady stream of recyclers from the community dropping off items at the different charity and recycling stations.
Local charities, Neighborlink and Goods Trading Services together reused a whole truck load of clothes, household goods, furniture and toys – all being donated to families in need. Habitat for Humanity also collected remnants from renovation projects for use in future construction.
Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP) took 4640 pounds of electronics recycling – computers, television, VCRs, printers filled 12 cages to the brim.
August 22nd, 2014
‘Guest Posts’ are blog articles written by people outside London Drugs. These may be independent authors or companies who are featured in our GreenDeal Product Program. We review the content before posting and provide this space as a forum to offer information and discuss sustainability issues. So please let us know what you think!
Photo: Romariolen – iStock
by VEGA – You’re already bringing reusable shopping bags to London Drugs, recycling everything under the sun and biking to work to tread lighter on the planet. But have you ever thought about the impact diet has on your carbon footprint? When you fuel your busy life with more whole, nutrient dense, plant-based foods on your plate, your carbon footprint goes down. At Vega, our passion for plant-based nutrition is as much about empowering health as it is about supporting the health of our planet. Here are three reasons to add more plant-based foods to your diet today:
The consumption of plant and animal products has very different effects on the planet. While plants “breathe in” harmful carbon dioxide and release life-giving oxygen into the world, animals do the opposite. Cows not only breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, they also release methane gas—a large contributor to climate change. So in just the farming, from seed to harvest, plants take up less land, energy, water and resources than animals—and combat the emissions animals farmed for food release.
Plant-based foods provide a bounty of nutrients, without taking up the resources required of animal foods. Take a look at your standard Canadian breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 2 sausage links, a slice of toast, and hash browns requires 824 g of CO2 emissions. A plant-based smoothie made with ¼ cup of blueberries, ½ a banana, 1 cup of hemp milk and a scoop of Vega One emits only 155 g CO2 emissions. Choosing to start your day with a smoothie isn’t only nutrient dense, but it also lowers your carbon footprint.
You need to stay healthy to save the environment. Besides requiring fewer resources, plant-based foods are more nutrient dense than many other foods found in a typical diet. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts all provide a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients, with relatively low calorie counts. Adding more plant-based foods to your diet can help your health—those who eat mainly plant-based tend to have lower BMIs and less risk of cardiovascular disease.1
Start with small changes
One of the easiest ways to reduce your food-related emissions is to add in more plant-based meals. Focusing on plant-based foods means less CO2 emissions, water and energy consumption. Don’t worry–this isn’t an all-or-nothing type of situation. Even if you’re not eating 100% plant-based, every plant-based food choice makes a difference. Why not start first thing in the morning? Blend fresh and frozen fruit, non-dairy milk, nuts, seeds and Vega One to start your day with fewer carbon emissions.
Even better, as you reach for a scoop of Vega One, you’ll notice that our bottles are now made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic—saving 278 tons of CO 2 or 63% less CO 2 greenhouse gas than virgin plastic per year.
August 8th, 2014
If you scan the shelves for Certified Organic, Fair Trade, Kosher, Cruelty-Free or other certifications, you’ll soon start seeing a new label on the block.
Certified B Corporation is an up-and-coming standard that goes beyond the qualities of the product you hold in your hand and sets a standard for the behaviour of the company itself.
B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
To qualify, companies must complete the rigorous B Impact Assessment and earn a reviewed minimum score of 80 out of 200 points. This assessment measures everything from environmental practices and waste to labour standards and community practices. This assessment is reviewed, documentation may be required, and re-certification is required every 2 years.
There are now over 1000 B Corps in 30+ countries around the world, and the movement is growing.
Some of the great Green Deal products made by B Corps that you’ll find on London Drugs’ shelves include Method, Badger, Seventh Generation, Lunapads, Salt Spring Coffee, Ethical Bean Coffee, Manitoba Harvest, Preserve and Traditional Medicinals.
B Corporation Certification has been called “The highest standard for socially responsible business”, but their ‘Declaration of Interdependence’ says it best:
“We envision an new sector of the economy which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit…” You can read the rest on the B Corp website.
So if you want to buy from a company that’s working to make a difference, look for the B. It’s one corporate certification that gets an ‘A’ from the Green Deal team.
July 29th, 2014
One of our customers in Saskatchewan recently asked if we take back light bulbs there for recycling, specifically Compact Fluorescent units. The answer is a very bright ‘YES!’ Customers can bring in old incandescent bulbs, CFL’s, halogen lights, even fluorescent tubes up to 4 feet in length. Just visit your local London Drugs Recycling Centre or Customer Service.
So where do they go from there?
Our recycling partner for lights in Saskatchewan is K-Light Recycling in Regina. K-Light is focused on environmental lamp recycling services in their specially-equipped facility. They strive to ensure 100% of the lamp components are smelted and re-used. Materials recovered include glass, metal, plastic, mercury & phosphor powder.
So if you’re bringing in lights to London Drugs for recycling, just remember to package them up securely first. Put CFL’s in a plastic bag and preferably a box. Tape fluorescent tubes together and wrap in cardboard if possible.
July 21st, 2014
On May 19th, 2014, an ambitious new recycling stewardship program was launched in BC, intended to deal with paper and packaging waste, but incorporating a whole lot more. Traditionally, municipalities were responsible for collecting recycling through taxpayer-funded pickup services, then sold the materials to recover costs.
Now, in participating municipalities province-wide, Multi Material BC will be in charge of collecting, processing and selling materials from Blue Box recycling programs.
So how does the funding work? Who processes the waste and where does the money go? We have designed the info graphic below to help answer some of those questions.
MMBC is not without its critics. Many maintain that there was not enough consultation with business before implementation, and that it does not reward stewards or manufacturers who go above and beyond in recycling behaviour or recyclable design.
The province of BC has been a leader in implementing such Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs, and we now have 18 similar industry-funded solutions for everything from tires to lights, used oil, batteries and smoke alarms. Other provinces are watching, so stay tuned and see how MMBC evolves.
We’ll be watching to help make sure it’s the REAL Green Deal!
In the meantime, for London Drugs customers, in BC and elsewhere, we are continuing our in-store recycling services, including our industry-leading Bring back the Pack Program.
July 16th, 2014
When Vancouver’s All Star ‘Achieve’ summer camp asked Kerrisdale London Drugs manager Meena Nahal if they could bring their troops by for some sustainable inspiration, of course the answer was ‘yes!’.
LD’s Green Deal representative, Lorne Craig, also happened to be available, so the team quickly brought together some information and materials to help tell the kids about the extraordinary efforts employees and customers have been making to recycle everything from computers to plastic bags.
“The kids were very attentive,” says Lorne, “They already knew a fair amount about recycling, but we were able to give them some new information as well – especially around the proper disposal of old and expired medications.”
The kids left with a recycling bag they can use at home to gather up those harder-to-recycle items – like batteries, CFL bulbs, small appliances and cell phones – and save them up until their next trip to the London drugs in-store recycling centre.
The kids made notes and asked some very pertinent questions, at one point even stumping the hosts.
“One young Einstein asked me what percentage of items we sell in the store are recyclable,” Lorne admits, “I didn’t have a ready answer. Looks like I’ll have to go to summer school myself on that one.”
If you want to know more about sustainability or ask about Green Deal information for your group, talk to your local London Drugs manager, or ask us on Twitter @WTGreenDeal.
June 23rd, 2014
Photos: Motoi Matsukura
One of London Drugs’ most sustainable stores is located in the heart of Olympic Village, a condominium community on the shores of Vancouver’s False Creek. Residents in a local building invited London Drugs’ Green Deal representative Lorne Craig to join them and share some information on recycling programs at their local store. We also shared some hot dogs, homemade halvah, corn salad, watermelon, and sparkling conversation on all manner of green topics.
Their building is one of the energy-efficient developments created as part of the original athletes’ village for the 2010 games in Vancouver. Residents who live there seem to really embrace the idea of ‘urban village’ living, and they are quite knowledgeable about sustainability issues. Several people also mentioned that having a local ‘everything’ store like London Drugs within walking distance helps reduce trips they need to make by car.
“We were able to surprise a few folks with the depth of London Drugs in-store recycling,” says Lorne Craig, “Most people knew we took back batteries and plastic bags, but our ability to also handle small appliances and electronics right at the store raised more than a few eyebrows.”
To learn a bit more about the recycling rates and sustainability of our Olympic Village London Drugs location, and for all our stores, check out the Green Deal videos below.
If your community organization wants to learn more about What’s the Green Deal, recycling or sustainability, talk to your local London Drugs manager or drop us a line on Twitter @WTGreenDeal.
See you on the patio!
