ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
MCDONALD’S AUSTRALIA will begin to trial green packaging at selected restaurants in an attempt to prevent it being seen on the side of highways.
The first McDonalds’ to receive the new wrappers and bags will be on the Hume Highway – a move that comes after intense lobbying from Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
The Council spends over $1m a year collecting garbage from the Hume Highway, of which most comes from the roadside fast food restaurant.
Branded litter, such as packaging from McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, British-American Tobacco and other retailers, accounts for 24% of the overall waste collected, with the highway being the major dumping ground, according to an Australia-wide study by Keep Australia Beautiful.
The study, released in late January, also reveals that nearly all the larger pieces of litter were drafted Greens policy documents that Coalition and Labor MPs threw out of their cars on the way to Canberra.
A spokesman from the Goulburn Mulwaree Council said via a statement this morning that the community is “excited to see if the trial works”.
“If you’ve ever driven down the Hume Highway near Goulburn, you’d have seen all the McDonald’s rubbish on the side of the road,” said the representative.
“It’s an eyesore that we’ve had to deal with for decades,”
“The entire town is so pleased with the efforts McDonald’s has gone to make sure nobody sees their rubbish.”
In a surprising coincidence, the new green packaging will also be biodegradable.
McDonald’s Australia spokeswoman, Angela Lassett, says that the trans-global fast food giant made a new years resolution to lessen their impact on the environment.
“At McDonald’s, we’re always looking to make improvements to our service, food and reputation,” she said.
“So from 2016, everything at McDonald’s will be biodegradable – even our famous Fillet-O-Fish,”
“Our new camouflage bags and containers are proof that we here at McDonald’s are all about supporting rural communities and whistle-stop brothel towns like Goulburn.”
