VANCOUVER, British Columbia — London Drugs opened its 76th store late last month, debuting a 17,200-square-foot unit in Vancouver’s Olympic Village.

“Today is the day we open a new London Drugs store in one of the most beautiful city spaces in the world,” president and chief executive officer Wynne Powell said when the store opened August 31.

“Our 76th store is unique in a variety of ways, particularly its boutique feel and new store concept, customized specifically for the Olympic Village community,” he noted. “We thank the residents here for being patient and for collaborating in the success of our new store in this vibrant Vancouver neighborhood.”

Smaller than London Drugs’ prototypical outlet, the new store still manages to offer shoppers most of the departments that are found in a standard London Drugs location and includes a few novel design ­concepts.

For example, the main entrance into the store’s cosmetics department is entirely new for a London Drugs store, followed by an open and integrated technology and electronics area.
There is a full-service photo lab, a pharmacy with a private consultation room and the same mix of household and food items found in other London Drugs stores.

After the 2010 Winter Olympics were over, the Olympic Village section of Vancouver was transformed into a residential and commercial area. City planners say they want the area to be one of the world’s most energy-efficient and sustainable communities.

London Drugs executives note that the company’s newest store is contributing to that goal through its innovative waste diversion program.

Chief operating officer Clint Mahlman points out that the Olympic Village store will achieve 95% waste diversion from landfills three years ahead of a 2015 target.

London Drugs has been recognized as a pioneer in waste diversion, with the company recycling more than 147,000 pounds of Styrofoam since 2007, making it the only retailer in Canada that has a companywide Styrofoam recycling program.

In addition, London Drugs recycles more than 99,000 pounds of plastic and 9.9 million pounds of cardboard every year, Mahlman says.