Waste: A Game of Snakes and Ladders? : Food and Retailing - Case Study
Every Little Counts
In 1992, McDonalds made a public commitment to halve the volume of solid waste across their entire UK operation in just three years - by 1995. Such a challenging target leaves no room for half-hearted measures, So McDonalds has been taking action.
The most significant contribution to waste reduction in 1993 was the introduction of a bulk delivery system for Coke syrup. This replace the 5 litre polyethylene jugs which were difficult to recycle and usually ended up in landfill. The new system required an investment of £1.5 million and by March 1994 was in operation in 418 of 529 McDonalds restaurants. Each restaurant is now fitted with two stainless steel tanks into which the syrup is pumped from the delivery lorry. Bulk delivery removes the need for packaging - McDonalds calculates that it will remove the need for around 2.8 million jugs each year. Other soft drink syrups have been converted to a 20 litre 'Bag in a Box' system reducing waste by some 70 per cent.
Corrugated cardboard is the largest element of refuse at McDonalds and the delivery boxes for French fries account for one-fifth of total solid waste.
Now over 350 restaurants are taking part in 'The Sadler Project' - named after the Birmingham-based carton company. The company buys the used French fry boxes from Mcdonalds and sells them to industry for reuse - particularly the automotive, brassware, stationery and ironmongering business. During 1993, half a million cases were sold in this way and the £25,000 income was donated to Ronald McDonalds Children's Charities.
McDonalds believes that no area of its business is too small to consider in terms of its environmental impact.
In 1993, Mcdonalds reviewed the humble napkin, and by reducing napkin size by 12 per cent - without any customer reaction - saved over 1.000 tonnes of material. In conjunction with its suppliers Dairy Produce Packers of Coleraine, Northern Ireland, McDonalds worked to reduce the amount of protective film requires for its cheese slices - which contribute to waste in the restaurants as the film is not recyclable. Finding a lighter film was not a problem - finding one that provided adequate protection for the product was a different story. But after six months of testing, a more technically advanced film was identified which reduces the weight of film used by 14 per cent.
Says Barrie Flack Mcdonalds Vice President responsible for environmental affairs: 'AS an industry leader we believe we have a responsibility to set standards in environmental practice - both for ourselves and for those companies which supply us. It is an essential part of good business practice. We have made the commitment to reduce the volume of waste and we are working together with our suppliers to achieve our goal.'
