Curbing Waste
By Dan Bolton
McDonald’s, which generates millions of tons of take-away trash daily, boldly declared that by 2025 all of its guest packaging will be sustainable, and that recycling will be universal at its 37,000 locations in 100 countries.
Shortly afterward, Coca-Cola declared its World Without Waste initiative to make all its packaging recyclable and use 50% recycled content in bottles and cans.
Starbucks announced a similar headline-grabbing initiative by charging £0.05 ($0.08) for takeaway cups. The experiment is limited to 25 stores in London beginning February.
Parliament is considering a £0.25 ($0.34) “latte levy” to curb waste. UK coffee drinkers take away 2.5 billion Starbucks cups each year. Currently, only 1.8% of British customers bring reusable cups into stores. In the US alone Starbucks customers could conserve four billion cups annually. The three-month experiment could go global.
Only 10% of the 69 million customers that McDonald’s serves each day have the option of in-store recycling. According to the company, within the next seven years every store will make it easy to recycle and 100% of guest packaging will be sourced as renewable, recyclable, or certified by organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council.
Francesca DeBiase, McDonald’s chief supply chain and sustainability officer announced that “by acting now and boldly, we hope to lead the industry and our customers toward a more sustainable future and fuel a movement to address waste as a global community.” “The tidal wave of plastic pollution will only start to recede when they turn off the tap,” said an approving John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace.
Foam will be phased out by the end of 2018 and paper and pulp trays will replace plastic and paper bags in many locations. These products can be recycled in-store or through domestic waste collection. McDonald’s has recycled for decades. Currently, 64% of its fiber-based packaging is sourced by certified suppliers.
Hot cups are more of a problem for beverage companies as they are lined with a tough plastic. Few municipal waste disposal facilities can separate the paper from this plastic which is why only 1% of take-away cups are recycled.
“Today’s notion of sustainability marks a cultural shift as it continues to gain groundswell in America,” writes Steve French, managing partner at Natural Marketing Institute. “All products and services need to consider consumer motivations regarding eco-friendliness; however, sustainability affects consumers at varying levels, so targeting and communications is more vital than ever,” he said.
Demand for product transparency is clearly on the rise, and brands that fulfill this demand by providing comprehensive information from sourcing, manufacturing and social cause efforts are positioned to gain favor, he said. The sourcing and ‘end life’ of packaging will become significantly more relevant as the product lifecycle and waste impact are increasingly becoming part of consumers’ purchase decisions.
Ten years ago, a number of US cities began enforcing a $0.10 fee for plastic bags. The result was many fewer bags in landfills. Coffee and tea present a different challenge. Trips to the grocer are infrequent and bring-your-own bags are practical. At Starbucks more than one-third of drink orders are now placed by phone for pickup, precluding bring-your-own benefits.
Efforts by manufacturers and retailers including the Waitrose grocery chain, Walmart, and many others are evidence of corporate social responsibility. Starbucks, for example, will use the money raised by charging for cups to support the work of environmental charity Hubbub. The research project: How to incentivize customers to use reusable cups instead of paper.