London Drugs is taking in candy wrappers trick-or-treaters collected on Halloween.
Along with chocolate bar and candy wrappers, the retailer is also accepting potato chip bags as part of its Other Flexible Plastic Packaging recycling program. The intent is to keep Halloween snack packaging waste out of city landfills.
"We want to help British Columbians celebrate Halloween with a bit less waste by making one simple suggestion: instead of throwing out your candy wrappers and chip bags, bring them to London Drugs for recycling," said Maury McCausland, the chain's retail operations sustainability specialist.
The items collected will be sent to Merlin Plastics, a post-consumer processing company in Delta, and used for research and development as the company works to develop a commercially viable process for recycling these common but tough-to-process items. Material that cannot be recycled will be used to produce engineered fuel for commercial operations such as concrete plants.
According to Statistics Canada, over $550 million worth of cookies, confectionery, and snack foods were sold across Canada last October, contributing significant amounts of packaging waste to landfills and the environment. Food wrappers are also a common source of marine litter and were among the top five items found in the Ocean Conservatory's International Coastal Clean-up last year.
"This is really a big problem; the volume of wrapper waste is significant. That's why we're making a commitment to help address it - not just at Halloween but year-round," said McCausland.
London Drugs is now accepting all sorts of items in the Other Flexible Plastic Packaging category including: stand-up and zipper lock pouches, like pouches for granola, frozen berries, etc.; crinkly wrappers and bags, like coffee bags, or cellophane; flexible packaging with plastic seal, like packaging for fresh pasta or pre-packaged deli meats; non-food protective wrap like bubble wrap or plastic envelopes; and net bags used for fruits and vegetables like onions, avocados and lemons.
"Last year, with the help of our customers and staff, our stores celebrated a 93 per cent waste diversion rate. This program will help get us one step closer to zero waste," said McCausland.
