Now that the kids have gone and trick-or-treated (and the adults have bought discounted candy), what to do with the wrappers?
London Drugs is running a program this year to collect all the leftover garbage, redirecting from landfills to a research project based in Delta, according to a press release. It's the first time the company has run the program in B.C.
"Customers can bring their chocolate bar and Halloween candy wrappers as well as potato chip bags and other flexible plastic packaging to any London Drugs location," states the company in the release. "The items collected will be sent to Merlin Plastics, a post-consumer processing company in Delta, B.C., and used for research and development as the company works to develop a commercially viable process for repurposing these common but tough-to-process items."
While some wrappers will be recycled, others will be turned into fuel for places like concrete plants.
The items that can be brought in include:
- Stand up and zipper lock pouches
- Crinkly wrappers and bags, including chip bags, bars, and candy wrappers
- Flexible packaging with a plastic seal
- Woven net and plastic bags
- Non-food protective packaging
A full list can be found HERE.
The program, called the Other Flexible Plastic Packaging initiative, is in conjunction with RecycleBC.
In the release, London Drugs points out that over $500 million was spent on candy and chocolate last October (according to StatsCan) and plastic food wrappers are one of the most common forms of man-made trash found in the ocean.
