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There are 3 questions about “Litter” in the “What are you doing about...” topic.

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1. despite claims that mcd. pay staff to walk 1000's of miles collecting litter, I feel the company is in breach of its duty of care as i notice so much mcd.'s litter around major cities. I have been collecting stickers from your coffee cups which I find so far I have had 39 free coffees(six stickers required for 1 free cup) If we take into account the profits generated by mcdonalds, more $ than most countires, do you think your company should be doing more?
Thank you for your question. The amount of litter on our streets is a problem faced by all communities across the UK – it is an issue that concerns residents, councils and local businesses alike. There is a minority of people who dispose of rubbish irresponsibly and create a litter problem that everyone finds frustrating, and it is important that we all do everything we can to help clean up our streets and encourage responsible behaviour with litter. McDonald’s restaurants operate very much as part of the community in which they are located and we take pride in the appearance of the local environment. That’s why since 1982 we have been working hard to reduce the amount of litter on our streets, including signing up to the Government’s voluntary code of practice to help reduce litter created by food on the go. While the people who drop litter are directly responsible for the problem, we believe it is everyone’s duty to tackle the issue and we work in partnership with local councils and litter action groups across the UK to identify and implement solutions. Through our work in this area we also hope to encourage other businesses to look at tackling the problem in a similar way. Our restaurants have individual litter patrol plans in place, bespoke to their local surroundings, and many agree these in consultation with local resident groups and environmental officers. Bins and signage are provided inside and outside our restaurants to encourage our customers to dispose of their waste responsibly. McDonald’s is also one of the country’s leading sponsors of council litter bins. All of our packaging carries an anti-littering symbol to actively encourage our customers to dispose of their litter responsibly and this message is supported by anti-littering signage in our restaurants and car parks. To find out more about McDonald’s efforts in tackling litter please visit the environment section of our website at http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ourworld/environment/policy.shtml (Aug 2010)

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2. I live in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and am horrified at the amount of rubbish left by selfish people in parking areas at beauty spots. The majority of this rubbish seems to be McDonalds packaging. Are you able to liaise with The National Parks to have these sites cleared regularly and/or provide waste bins which the less selfish might use?
Thank you for your question. The amount of litter on our streets is a problem faced by all communities across the UK – it is an issue that concerns residents, councils and local businesses alike. There is a minority of people who dispose of rubbish irresponsibly and create a litter problem that everyone finds frustrating, and it is important that we all do everything we can to help clean up our streets and encourage responsible behaviour with litter.Our restaurants have individual litter patrol plans in place, bespoke to their local surroundings, and many agree these in consultation with local resident groups and environmental officers. Bins and signage are provided inside and outside our restaurants to encourage our customers to dispose of their waste responsibly. McDonald’s is also one of the country’s leading sponsors of council litter bins. All of our packaging carries an anti-littering symbol to actively encourage our customers to dispose of their litter responsibly and this message is supported by anti-littering signage in our restaurants and car parks. In addition we’ve put in place a variety of initiatives and partnerships that help tackle the problem of litter across the UK. (April 2010)

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3. Why don't you have signs asking customers to put rubbish in the bin. it does my head in when i come in and all the tables are covered in rubbish. Also, get some mayonnaise. i ask for it every time just to make the point i want it.
Thank you for your question. McDonald's has an extensive litter management programme that aims to control litter around the restaurants, and also educate and inform customers and the wider community about the importance of environmental protection. McDonald's was the first restaurant to introduce 'Litter Patrols' in the UK, in which each restaurant conducts at least three daily litter patrols whereby members of staff go out and pick up not only McDonald's packaging, but also any other litter that has been carelessly discarded. Litterbins are provided outside all McDonald’s restaurants and the company is one of the biggest sponsors of council provided litterbins in the country. In addition, restaurants have signs at the end of all their drive thru lanes and in car parks, which clearly ask customers to dispose of their litter responsibly in a bin. With regards to your question concerning mayonnaise, McDonald's has provided mayonnaise in the past, but stopped serving it as a dip because it wasn’t as popular with customers. However, its popularity as a condiment, especially with French Fries has not gone unnoticed. If demand from customers is strong enough, then McDonald's will seriously consider the possibility of seeing mayonnaise retuning to restaurants.

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