At London Drugs, we strive to do business responsibly. The four pillars of our sustainability strategy aim to improve: waste reduction, energy & operations, upstream buying, and education. Since 2008, our in-store recycling initiatives have prevented tonnes of garbage from reaching landfills. April, of course, is Earth Month—Earth Day falls on the 22nd—so we’ve collected for you a clutch of our favourite sustainability tips and tricks. Enjoy!
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7 Ways You Should Already Be Conserving Energy—and Saving Money!
Small changes make a big impact in conserving energy in your home. (Oh, and energy costs money.) These 7 tips offer habits that you can build into your daily life without too much hassle, all while benefitting the environment.
[More at BC Hydro]
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5 Washing Machines Secrets for Pros Only
So you took the plunge and splurged on a high-efficiency front-load washing machine. Not only are they quieter and quicker than typical washers, they also use less water and less energy. Here are some tips from BC Hydro about how to maximize your machine’s potential.
- Always use high-efficiency detergent, and use the minimum amount. It’s concentrated and produces fewer suds, which will help you avoid potentially costly problems due to soap build-up in the drum of your machine. Look for the “he” symbol on your favourite brands of detergent.
- Consider a pre-soak for smelly sports gear. Do a cool-water pre-rinse within 20 minutes after a workout. And never leave that stuff in the hockey bag or gym bag overnight.
- Load a full washer. You’re running the machine anyways, so use that water and energy to clean a full load.
- Remove finished loads immediately. Avoid damp clothes breeding that musty odour.
- Leave the washer door ajar when you’re not using it. That air circulation will also limit mould and mildew buildup. Smart!
- Run the machine cleaning cycle regularly. Or, run an empty load with bleach. Run the machine once a month with bleach and without clothes to help keep it clean.
[More at BC Hydro]
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Hey, Friend Try to Avoid Accidentally Drugging Your Community
Kick off spring cleaning by going through your medicine cabinet. Have unused prescriptions? Don’t toss them in the trash or the toilet! Bring them to a London Drugs pharmacy for safe disposal.
Trashed and flushed medications are dangerous. They permeate the water table, and can make their way into drinking water and the food chain. Why? Because our present-day waste treatment systems are unable to filter out the complex chemicals of today’s medicines. Contaminated water enters to the environment and negatively affects aquatic organisms, fish, and even bigger animals, like us.
Do the responsible thing. Return expired medications to your pharmacy. We safely incinerate them, and you get a karma boost in the process.
[More at What’s the GreenDeal?]
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13 Unexpected Items You Can Recycle at London Drugs
Recycling, while important, can be a pesky task. However, if you can drop off your items and shop for household needs at once, it makes the process a bit better! That’s why we offer in-store recycling centres – to make your day easier.
Recycle the following items at your neighbourhood London Drugs:
- Electrical and Electronic goods (TVs, VCRs, computers, monitors, printers etc)
- Small Appliances (purchased at London Drugs)
- Styrofoam, plastic and cardboard packaging from our products
- Cell phones, PDA and rechargeable batteries
- Alkaline Batteries
- Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs) 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
[More at What’s the GreenDeal?]
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Help Us Make a Difference (In Pounds!)
We track all items recycled through our in-store recycling programs. Nearly eight and a half million pounds of cardboard alone. Not too bad, guys! Think how much we could recycle this year!
See the full chart (dating back to 2008!) at the GreenDeal website.
[More at What’s the GreenDeal?]
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