Fast-food behemoth McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) announced Tuesday that by 2025, all the company’s guest packaging will be made from renewable, recycled or certified sources. Perhaps more ambitiously, the company set a goal to recycle at every McDonald’s store around the globe.
The company has a standing goal to use only recycled or certified sources for all its fiber-based packaging by 2020.
To reach its goals, the company said it will consult with industry experts, local governments and environmental associations to improve McDonald’s packaging and recycling practices. The company expects its efforts to drive smarter packaging designs, to implement new recycling programs, to establish new measurement programs and to educate staff and customers.
McDonald’s chief supply chain and sustainability officer, Francesca DeBiase, said:
As the world’s largest restaurant company, we have a responsibility to use our scale for good to make changes that will have a meaningful impact across the globe. Our customers have told us that packaging waste is the top environmental issue they would like us to address. Our ambition is to make changes our customers want and to use less packaging, sourced responsibly and designed to be taken care of after use, working at and beyond our restaurants to increase recycling and help create cleaner communities.
Tom Murray, vice-president of the Environmental Defense Fund’s EDF+business group, said:
Nearly three decades ago, McDonald’s and EDF teamed up to tackle solid waste and accelerate innovation in packaging. Along the way, we pioneered a new partnership model for companies and nonprofit organizations. Today, McDonald’s continues to raise the sustainability bar by setting ambitious goals and collaborating with partners across the value chain for maximum impact.
Currently, half of McDonald’s customer packaging comes from renewable, recycled or certified sources and nearly two-thirds of fiber-based packaging comes from certified or recycled sources. An estimated 10%t of McDonald’s restaurants globally are recycling customer packaging, according to the company’s announcement.
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