GOAL

SCOPE IMPACT ASSESSMENT & INTERPRETATION

REFERENCES

Life Cycle Analysis

To examine the ecological impact of this food service process in McDonald’s restaurants in Australia. From this analysis, problem areas can be highlighted and with this assessment a more sustainable system can be created and a proposed solution developed.

Analysis will cover the production, transport, use and end of life of foodservice packaging. Focus will be placed on the sourcing of material, use as a collective in restaurants and recyclability at the end of life.

FOODSERVICEPA CK A GINGAND WASTE

Fast food restaurants such as McDonald's produce a lot of waste from the packaging the food is served in alone. All food is wrapped and boxed up even if the customer is eating in the restaurant creating a lot of unnecessary waste.

Collection of recycled materialSeparation of recycled materials

PetroleumElectricity

Gas

CO2Greenhouse

Gases

Collective Single Use

PackagingFreight

PaperElectricityPetroleum

CO2Recyclable

paper

Paper turned to pulpPaper washed and de-inked

Fibre Materials addedSpread into large sheets of paper

Dried and CoatedPrinted and Die Cut

Folded and glued

ElectricityWaterHeat

Waste WaterCO2

DioxionsSulphus

Compound

Collection and freight Land�ll OR Recycling plant

Petroleum CO2

SYSTEM BOUNDARIES *in white

1.7 MILLIONCUSTOMERS

ARE SERVED BYAUSTRALIANMcDONALD’S RESTAURANTSDAILY

PAPERPACKAGING

RECYCLED OR CoC CERTIFIED90%

TOTAL30,000TONNES

LANDFILL20,000

TONNES *FIGURES FROM 2008 -09

ESTIMATEDGENERATED WASTE*

paperpackagingaloneanother 1/3 ismade up of foodand organic waste

restaurant waste

1 / 3 not including other papers or recyclable plastics

FROM THAT...

OF THAT...

BUT AT LEAST

INVENTORY ANALYSIS

McDonald’s Australia Limited 2011, Australian Packaging Covenant, Thornleigh

McDonald’s Corporate Social Responsibility 2009, Global Best of Green, United States of America

Popai Sustainability 2008, Sustainability Committee Retail Case Study – McDonald’s, Australia

Environmental Recycling Inc, HDPE Recycling Process, Missouri

McDonald’s Australia 2010, McDonald’s Australia Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report 2010, Thornleigh

Boxer, McDonald’s 2009, McDonald’s Global Packaging Design System, United Kingdom

About 35% of all packaging items are made from recycled (post consumer) materials and 55% from renewable sources, McDonald’s still has some work so do in terms of its material usage. Though with reviews and plans in place this looks to improve over the next few years.

However every restaurant creating about 5 tonnes of waste a year with about 22 tonnes of CO2 is released every year just from McDonald’s land�ll contributions. Waste disposal is a major area in need of improvement, yet not a lot has gone into reducing waste or the proper disposal of recaclable and compostable waste.

THE PROBLEM THE SOLUTION

FOR CUSTOMERS

THE DETAILS

G R E E N E R D I N I N G

The Proposal

The solution is a new sustainable food service system which spans from when an order is placed to when waste is disposed of. The key is minimising waste is to minimise the need for it in the �rst place.

The ‘Greener Dining’ system involves maximising the use of in house McDonald’s reuseable restaurant trays and a more selective approach to packaging of food. It incorporates all aspects of the restaurant and requires the cooperation of staff and customer. The underlying nature of the Greener Dining system is REDUCE,REUSE, RECYCLE. Reduce the amount of packaging being used. Reuse the tools such as trays used in restaurants and implement an effecting recycling progam.

McDonald's Australia has put a lot of effort into making their packagaing more sustainable in its restaurants. Though there is still room to improve the amount of post consumer recycled �bres are on the increase for both paper and plastic production and it is already in their packaging plans to have 100% renewable packaging and is presently in a review of its current packaging range.

What does need to be addressed is the shocking amounts of waste going into land�ll. With around 30,000 tonnes of waste being produced every year and with that number on the rise due to the company’s growth it is veri important to manage What is missing is a cohesive recycling program and ef�cient use of packaging in the restaurant and customer involvement.

The implementation of the ‘Made for You’ system assists this new process as food is not only prepared but also served/packaged to order too. The key is to minimise packaging use hence decreasing the amount of waste and further putting in place a system which addresses the disposal of waste so that it is better managed. while giving the consumer a more personal, catered interaction.

As part of this new Greener Dining system, it is vital that a successfull recycling program implemented to support the out�ow of packaging to make sure as little garbage goes through to land�ll. This includes new recycling bins and a new waste management program

The success of the Greener Dining systems will rely on customer cooperation. This is why it is very important that they get involved with the initiative.

For the support of the puplic it is vital to get the message out and let them know what McDonald’s is up to. This can happen through store signage, online media (e.g. though the website) as well as advertisements in the media.

2. FOOD PREPARATION

3. DISPOSAL

4. REUSE

5. RECYCLE & RECOVERY

1. ORDER

FOODSERVICEP R O C E S S

The following goes through each step in the store processes of the Greener Dining System once it has been implemented. It includes all customer involvement and responsibilities of individual staff and the restaurant as a whole.

The Proposal

After a customer orders, the staff is to ask;

"Was that to eat-in or take-away?"If the response is eat-in, then the 'tray'

option will be entered into the system.

If the response is take-away, the staff must then ask;

“Would you like it in a bag?”and ‘bag’ or ‘none’ will be entered

into the system accordingly.

The options will be seen on orderscreens by the staff preparing the food in the kitchen. This way they will know how to package and prepare the food that was ordered.

Paper lined trays* are at the ready in the kitchen. Fries are placed directly on the paper in one of the tray sections. Burgers are wrapped in a wax paper band, held in place with a toothpick label. This is to ensure they stay intact in transportation.

All other item such as drinks, napkins, straws and dips can be placed in the �nal section. Drinks and sundays will still be served in thier cups.

When the customers have �nished thier meals, all food and garbage will be disposed of in the rubbish chute and they can place any recycleable pieces into new recycling bins. Trays are left on top as usual.

Once the customer is done and thier rubbish shorted and trays returned, the trays then undergo some cleaning and be sanitised before being used again. Someone is accountable to make sure that there are always clean trays available to serve customers with.

The current kitchen sink set up is pretty much ready for the new trays. The only difference is that, with the cooperation with customers, there will be more people opting to grab a tray and eat in.

All rubbish is then sent to an off site waste recycling plant for processing. There any recyclables and compostable items are picked out before what is left is then �nally sent to land�ll. *more about the trays on the next page

TRAY REDESIGN

OFFSITE WATSE RECYCLING

RECYCLING BINS

NEW PACKAGING

ELEMENTS TO I N T R O D U C E

The Proposal Trays are to be redesigned to accommodate not just as a food transport between counter and table but also as a serving station. To be made from injection moulded from HDPE, it will be strong, heat and moisture resistant and sustainable. Approximately 35x 45cm, it is around the same size as your generic cafeteria trays

The moulded ridges divides the tray up so to separate different parts of a meal i.e. burger, fries, drinks and naptins/dips. The deeper pan is to stop anything from slipping off while transfering from counter to table. Like conventional cafeteria trays they are stackable and are to be washed in the same manner in the kitchen sinks.

The deeper pan-like design stops food from slipping off the tray when manuvering to your table. The inside of the tray is textured to minimise slipping of the paper or anything else on it. Handles on either end make it easier to carry around.

The implementation of a recycle bin in McDonald’s restaurants will be an important step. Not only does it send a message to the customers but it also lets them take part and make a difference in the efforts McDonald’s is making.

Like the bin below from japan, there will be images to remind people what goes in the recycling bin. Though here in Australia there will only be one generic recycle chute and next to it one for garbage.

There will be a small line of new packagin producs to be introduced as part of the Greener Dining system.

The �rst of which it s a narrow paper strip which it to be placed around the burgers to stop them from falling appart between preparation and consumption.

The paper bands are held in place with a �agged toothpick which also doubles as a burger label. The �ag colours correspond with the boxes of the burgers and the other colours and fonts used apply to the new global package design principles.

Waste recycling trials have been done in 50 Sydney restaurants. With an average diversion rate of 80% from land�ll, the success of this has driven it to become national. Stores will be grouped by location and thier rubbish will collectively be taken to particular sorting plants. Remaining rubbish will be compacted to reduce space when transporting back to land�ll.

This is a detailed look at all the elements that are to be implemented with the Greener Dining system.

REDUCING MATERIAL USAGE

OPTIMISING DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

REDUCING IMPACTS DURING USE

OPTIMISING END OF LIFESELECTING LOW-IMPACT MATERIALS

E C O D E S I G NSTRATEGIES

The Proposal

Here is a more in depth look at the Eco-design strategies implemented in the Greener Dining System for McDonald’s.

The main factor in the creation of Greener Dining, was the mass amounts of waste created by McDonald’s restaurants in Australia annually. As a result the basis of the system was to minimise the use of packaging in foodservice around the restaurant and therefore decreasing the amount of waste being produced, potentially ending up in land�ll.

With less packaging being used, the demand for the products will also decrease. Meaning delivered goods last longer therefore lengthening the time between deliveries saving fuel and vehicle emissions.

There will be a saving in material being used and overall a smaller impact on the environment

Implementing vigurous waste recycling measures for both in house and off site sorting. This is to minimise the amount of waste going to land�ll and will have other things properly sorted to be recycled or possibly to compost.

Greener Dining encourages customers to eat in and consider the environment in what they are doing from eating to disposing of thier rubbish. This creates a space for them to be responsible for thier own environmental impact while also having them make a difference to the McDonald’s community.

For the new pieces such as the trays and the new tweaks to the pakaging, it was important that they ti not only assissted with the goal. So the chosen matterial for each was carefully thought out to be made from renewable or low impact.

The toothpicks are made from bamboo, a sustainable plantation. The paper bands for burgers are also 100% recycled and unlike the burger boxes, there is just one generic type of paper band so there are less manufacturing proscesses invilved. The trays are made from 100% recycled HDPE and at the end of the tray’s life cycle it too can be recycled.