Why don't McDonalds have recycle bins?

Poppycat

I dont use them there food is rubbish, I doubt even the worms etc would eat there food in my compost bin. They should be a responsible food outlet, but sadly even there food is dire

nzmegs

Long a go when I was a teenager living in New Zealand (we are talking 1988-1991) our McDonalds did recycle all their cardboard. They had two seperate bins and you were expected to put the drink cups and other plastics in one and the paper tray mats and burger boxes in the other. Everyone knew what to do because it was like that from the moment the first Mcdonalds opened in NZ.
As a nation we always recycled (I can't remember not doing it). I was surprised when I came here to find McDonalds didn't do it here and that frankly everyone here didn't seem to give a monkeys about their local environment let alone the global one.
I have put a recycling scheme in place at work and I meet alot of resistance but I persevere.
I haven't eaten in Mcd's for 5 years but they do contribute to alot of inner city waste and they ought to do their bit.

Ianna

I think it's definitely worth a go. They're not the same as they were 5 years ago they make far more effort - they even sell (rancid disgusting) salads. If they decided to recycle even 1% of their rubbish that would save a lot of litter.

ecsb

I thought exactly the same when i was in burger king.the bin was overflowing with paper cardboard and plastic bottles.

dwjohnno81

having worked for maccies i know the situation!!!

all product boxes are all 100% recycled
all boxes that we use in the store are flattend and seperated from normal rubbish to be recycled along with all plastic.
all cooking oil that is finished with is taken away and also recycled to make some fuel for certain cars which run on bio fuel

so they do alot to recycle.

b33r

dwjohnno81 wrote: »

having worked for maccies i know the situation!!!

all product boxes are all 100% recycled
all boxes that we use in the store are flattend and separated from normal rubbish to be recycled along with all plastic.
all cooking oil that is finished with is taken away and also recycled to make some fuel for certain cars which run on bio fuel

so they do a lot to recycle.

To be fair to Macdonalds all that is true, see here for more info.

They are also converting all their delivery lorries to run on bio-diesel so the lorries will be powered by basically all the restaurant's waste. More info on that here.

From what I've read Macdonalds are certainly a lot more environmentally friendly that most other businesses in the UK.

ailuro2

I agree- they really are making an effort to change their image.
At our McD's we see them going out to the rubbish compound with black bags- I always assumed it came straight from the bins indoors.
It would be nicer for employees if they had a separate bin for plastic bottles and cardboard cups, people might even use them!

p.s. In western Canada where they are very up on their recycling, the McD's there still didn't have separate bins for recycling.

JasonLVC

Whilst it is a historical view, I heartily recommend reading Fast Food Nation - which shows the route McD' took to get where it is today. No amount of posturing and marketing can ever hide the fact that McD has made more negative contributions to society than positive ones - politically, ethically, socially and environmentally. A few UK trucks running on chip fat does not come close to the global scale of damage McD cause. Are the trucks in the USA running on chip fat?. What about the ones in China or Hong Kong?.

Plus the cynic in me says the massive reduction in duty for using bio-diesel over petrol/diesel will be the motivating factor here. Millions could be saved in fuel duty alone I'm sure. As for the other link about reduce/recycle - these 'initiatives' are driven by laws and by cost reduction. The 'we use computers to analyse stock to reduce wasteage' is only about 'just-in-time stock control and saving money and reducing cost of wasteage, not cost to the environment.

In Austria, years ago, the McD's all had recycling slots for used cups/napkins (paper), used cup lids/straws (plastic), burger boxes (cardboard) and waste food. Everyone religiously ate their meals and then sorted the food into the different bins.

So McD's do recycle...when the law of the land makes them, but not when it is left to them to decide. They can easily implement such recycling regimes in the UK quickly as the book is already written on it (albeit in German) but they've chosen to go for more 'marketability' rather than true devotion.

Morty_007

I guess you could ask for your kids meal not in a box...or to have your take away meal without a bag? every little helps
(oh, no, thats a different thread!)

BennyB_2

When I used to live in Germany (7 or 8 years ago), the Macdoanlds there used to have separate bins for recycling and I believe they do in other parts of Europe. It seems they are a bit slow to catch up here. I think that as a large retailer they should be taking initiative.

There's a website where you can ask them this type of question.

http://www.makeupyourownmind.co.uk/

Have a read through. There's a lot of silly questions that people ask, but a few good ones too.