The Langley Bottle Depot and Langley Diving have joined forces to help local residents clean up their garages and protect the environment at the same time by collecting bottle refund money on behalf of Project AWARE, a charity dedicated to the cleanliness of our ocean planet and protection of endangered aquatic life.

Langley Diving owner Les Newman states that he is excited about the partnership. “ Karim and the folks at the Langley Bottle Depot get it.”  says Les.    “He has a business to run, but the business is built on the foundation of environmental protection.    We have found a partner who sees the bigger picture and everybody wins.”

For his part, Karim Tejani, General Manager of the Langley Bottle Depot says it’s not just another project he is involved with.  “Our motto is ‘We are the people in the business of saving the planet.’  If what we are doing with Langley Diving can encourage people to recycle and, as in this case, support a cleaner planet at the same time then we are fulfilling the larger vision of the Langley Bottle Depot.”

In November 2013 Langley Diving was selected by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors out of thousands of shops in the Americas as winner of the Project AWARE Outstanding Environmental Award.  The award recognized Langley Diving for its years of underwater clean-ups and initiatives to raise awareness and funds on behalf of endangered sharks and rays.

The Langley Bottle Depot, a Five Star Return It facility,  has repeatedly been nominated for Business Excellence by the local Chamber of Commerce and has been recognized by numerous local charities for its commitment to local fund-raising initiatives.  They  support a wide variety of charity efforts from Scout bottle drives, to school fundraising projects projects and disaster relief programs. 

To take part in this co-operative program all residents have to do is show up at the Langley Bottle Depot and ask that the funds they would otherwise receive for their recycling be deposited to the benefit of account 458, Project AWARE.  The funds are then transferred in their entirety from the Langley Bottle Depot to Langley Diving and on to Project AWARE.

Les commented “Services like their pick-up program will make our efforts to clean up local lakes and rivers even more successful. It makes the whole effort worthwhile when we get out of the water with several thousand discarded bottles and cans and know that Karim and the folks at the Langley Bottle Depot are there waiting for us.”

The Langley Bottle Depot is located at 20137 Industrial Avenue in Langley BC.  For information on re-cycling programs, articles they recycle and hours of operation check their web site at www.langleybottledepot.com,  email [email protected], or call 604 530 0131.

Langley Diving is a PADI 5 Star Instructional Development Facility located at 20055 Willowbrook Drive in Langley.  For information on courses, gear or dive opportunities check their website at www.langleydiving.com, email them at [email protected] or call 604 514 8190.

Project AWARE is a US registered charity and is devoted exclusively to the protection of the oceans and our waterways including the protection of endangered species such as sharks and rays.  Information on Project AWARE can be found at www.projectaware.org .