In the U.S. last year alone, McDonald’s purchased more than $530 million in recycled materials for our packaging.
When it comes to sustainable packaging and waste, less is more
At McDonald’s, environmental impact is one of five criteria used in the process of developing food and beverage packaging. The other four criteria are functionality, cost, availability of materials and impact on operations. From an environmental perspective, we focus on reducing the impacts of materials used and improving waste management practices.
Our approach considers a product’s entire lifecycle. It starts with where we source our materials and the design of the food packaging. Finally, we look at “end of life” options such as recycling and composting.
Keeping score– Global Packaging Scorecard
Why not make it sustainable from the outset? That’s the goal with our packaging. We are implementing a global packaging scorecard to better inform the decisions we make about packaging. The scorecard builds on best practices from our European and North American markets, as well as advice from outside experts and NGOs like Environmental Defense Fund.
The scorecard framework focuses on our key environmental priorities for packaging:
- Minimizing weight
- Maximizing use of recycled materials
- Preference for renewable materials
- Minimizing the amount of harmful chemicals used in production
- Reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions
- Maximizing end-of-life options such as recycling