McDonald’s Canada is Opening Two "Green Concept Restaurants" to Test New Sustainable Solutions
By Thomas Kenzaki
June 20, 2019More than ever before, businesses are looking into ways to reduce their environmental footprint. McDonald’s Canada, one of the biggest quick service restaurants in Canada, has just announced that it's opening two new Green Concept Restaurants which will act as incubators to test new environmentally friendly packaging options and recycling initiatives.
The two new Green Concept Restaurants will be located in London, ON at 1033 Wonderland Road South and Vancouver, BC at 3444 E Hastings Street.
McDonald’s Canada’s goal is to eventually source all of its guest packaging from renewable and/or recycled materials. Being one of the largest quick service restaurants in the country means it produces a lot of product waste. By improving their packaging, this has the potential to have a significant impact on reducing the amount of waste that ends up in our landfills each year.
"Green Concept Restaurants are an exciting new innovation as part of our on-going sustainable journey"
This goes far beyond just the elimination of plastic straws which has become a trend across Canada with businesses such as A&W and IKEA having already made the switch to paper straws.
The Green Concept Restaurants will continue to use many traditional McDonald’s packaging options but will also be testing new options. If those options are found to be successful, they will be rolled out to more McDonald’s locations across Canada.
Here are some of the initiatives that McDonald’s will be testing at the new Green Concept Restaurants:
- Fully re-pulpable cup for cold beverages - The new cups will use an aqueous coating that is acceptable in recycling streams
- New fibre drink lids - A new recyclable lid made from 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood fibre which can also be sipped from eliminating the need for a straw
- Wooden cutlery and stir sticks - Wooden options would help significantly reduce plastic waste in stores as these items are currently only available in plastic form
- Paper straws - With more and more companies switching to plastic or biodegradable straws, this is a simple yet effective change to help reduce plastic waste
While I’m not the biggest fan of paper straws, I understand the need for change and appreciate the fact that companies as large as McDonald’s continue to take steps in the right direction to help reduce their negative environmental impact.
I’m sure we will continue to see positive changes continue to take place at McDonald’s and look forward to seeing what innovative new sustainable options they come out with next.
Source: McDonald's Canada
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