McDonald's Recycling
Programs Push Toward ZeroWaste
Twenty years after it introduced its Environmental Defense Waste Reduction
Task Force, McDonald's is still pushing to reduce its environmental impact.
More than two decades ago, a burger-slinging juggernaut embarked on a
recycling venture that, while unseen by patrons, was intended to set the
precedent for multinational eateries.
In 1991, McDonald’s hoped its golden arches would soon symbolize the
new-age approach of corporate responsibility in regards to food and
packaging reuse and recycling.
Ronald and crew teamed up with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund
to unleash an expansive program titled “McDonald’s Corporation –
Environmental Defense Waste Reduction Task Force” aimed at finding ecofriendly ways to dispose of the unfathomable amount of packaging required
in daily operations to feed the masses. Which, by the way, is in the “billions
and billions.”
The main focus of the task force was to reduce and/or reuse as much material
as possible required to package, store and transport the countless number of
buns, burger, fries, napkins, etc. within the U.S. The approach was as
follows:
The task force examined in detail only McDonald’s materials use and solid
waste issues in its U.S. operations, including its restaurants, distribution
centers and suppliers. We took broader environmental impacts into
consideration, in part to ensure that changes resulting in solid waste
reductions would not create or exacerbate other negative environmental
impacts.
Reading further, some interesting numbers will make your head spin: Even at
that time, there were more than 8,500 Mickey D restaurants in the U.S. alone,
and nearly 600 independent food, packaging and equipment suppliers worked
with McDonald’s nationwide. Twenty years later, that number has certainly
increased, which puts a lot of responsibility on both parties.
So, how did the worldwide pinnacle of patties and shakes aim to make its
operations greener? An emphasis was put on reducing waste by swapping
disposable packaging with reusable containers, particularly in regards to bulk
storage.
This approach was implemented for condiment packets, cleaning supplies,
durable shipping pallets used at distribution centers and reusable coffee
filters. This philosophy also gave rise to the handy-dandy pump dispenser for
dispensing condiments. Other in-store changes included reusable coffee cups,
“and reusable lids for salads and breakfast entrées.”
The second major waste reducer was figuring out what types of materials
could be recycled. At that time, it was determined that by weight, 34% of all
solid waste was corrugated cardboard. Easy fix there — recycle it rather than
throw it out.
McDonald’s also used its business heft to convince its suppliers to ship as
much material as possible in recyclable cardboard as well as buying napkins
and take-out sacks that have a “high level” of recycled content. In 1991,
those levels were only 5 to 30%. Additional efforts included “homogenizing”
the types of plastics used for utensils, packaging of supplies (like buns) and
jugs for liquids.
But packaging products aren’t the only types of materials that can be
recycled. For exactly that reason, a third directive of this task force took to
composting. No kidding: McDonald’s was looking into composting in the
early ’90s. The study declares:
About 34% of McDonald’s on-premise waste consists of organic materials
such as eggshells, coffee grounds and other food scraps. Used paper items
such as discarded napkins represent another essentially organic component
of McDonald’s waste.
A pilot program in the Northeast used two tests to discover the
compostability of everything from new, paper-based sandwich wrappers and
packaging materials to “partially separated organic materials.” That program
was put into motion 20 years ago. It seems that the creators of Ronald, the
Hamburglar and Grimace have been invested in reducing their need for
landfill space for some time now.
Yet, while the efforts listed above were surely innovative at the time,
shouldn’t McDonald’s be boasting a zero-landfill operation by now?
Searching their corporate website, signs are promising that they’re
approaching a zero-waste threshold along with other promising accolades.
Statements such as, “Currently, 82% of McDonald’s consumer packaging is
made from renewable materials, and we’re aiming for higher percentages in
the future” are surely indicative of moving in the right direction.
Combine that with McDonald’s push to increase its buildings’ sustainability
values (the 20-year-old Campus Office Building at its global headquarters in
Oakbrook, IL, is LEED Platinum certified), toss in a little forward-thinking
eco-friendly game plan and top it all off with an environmental scorecard,
then you might be left with one of the greenest corporations around.
What McDonald’s started over two decades ago with Environmental Defense
Fund, if it keeps up the pace, should make a major difference for decades to
come.
- See more at: http://1800recycling.com/2011/04/mcdonalds-recyclingprograms-zero-waste#sthash.PkxKMFFq.dpuf