In the Metro Vancouver area alone, over 44 million pounds of clothing were thrown out last year and sent to landfills. There, many of the items containing plastic will take anywhere from hundreds to thousands of years to decompose.

Green Leaf Brewing celebrates its fifth anniversary this week. I recall first learning of the brewery’s opening and wondering, at the time, if the North Shore would be able to support the rapid growth trend of craft breweries that was materializing. By my count, we now have six unique craft breweries on the North Shore (as well as three craft distilleries) and, as reported by the North Shore News recently, new proposed brewery developments have prompted North Vancouver city council to take a look at zoning bylaw changes that would make the addition of lounge and restaurant space within breweries easier to secure. Such changes could result in a full-on brewery “district” along East Esplanade. On any given night, each of our existing breweries seem to draw significant crowds, categorically answering my earlier question about whether or not we had a critical mass to support new beer businesses. We do.