Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 17, 1991                   TAG: 9104170463
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

MCDONALD'SI OUT TO CUT GARBAGE/ FAST-FOOD CHAIN TO USE BROWN BAGS, SMALLER

The initiatives include the use of brown bags made of recycled paper, smaller paper napkins, recycling of behind-the-counter cardboard boxes, and the elimination of plastic cutlery wrappers where allowed by local health codes. And the company is trying out reusable coffee mugs, reusable coffee filters, and pump-style bulk condiment dispensers.

McDonald's, the world's largest food service organization, said it is also looking into replacing the plastic forks, spoons and knives with starch-based cutlery that could be composted. It also plans large-scale, soil-enriching composting of food and paper wastes on an experimental basis.

Parts of the plan already have been implemented, such as the switch last fall from polystyrene sandwich boxes to a thin-layered wrap. Before the changes were begun, McDonald's outlets sent 2 million pounds of garbage per day to incinerators and landfills in the United States.

The initiative was developed in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental advocacy group, which set up a joint task force with McDonald's to scrutinize the company's trash.

Keith Magnuson, McDonald's director of operations development, said he was "somewhere between surprised and shocked," when he realized how much of the garbage produced at McDonald's restaurants could be reduced, reused, recycled or composted.

The plan also has environmental goals other than waste reduction, such as converting to unbleached brown paper when possible, or to paper bleached with processes that don't use harmful chlorine.

Richard Denison, a senior scientist for EDF, said the McDonald's initiative could set a trend for the food service industry.

"They have a major role to play. They can serve as a catalyst," Denison said. "We felt if we could find solutions that would work for McDonald's, it would work for others."

MCDONALD'S PLAN/ GOAL: TO REDUCE WASTE Sandwich containers: Change from polystyrene clamshells to paper-based wraps./ Paper bags: Convert to unbleached brown paper bags and Big Mac wraps/ Composting: Test large-scale composting of food and paper waste./ Fries containers: Test paper bags instead of paperboard containers for medium and large fries./ Drink lids: Test eliminating cold drink lids for customers eating at the restaurant./ Napkin size: Use smaller napkins to reduce the amount of paper used by 21 percent./ Wrappers: Eliminate individual cutlery wrappers except where required by local law./ Shipping dividers: Eliminate dividers inside boxes used to ship cleaning supplies./ Ketchup shipping containers: Test reusable shipping containers for ketchup packets./ Meat shipping containers: Replace corrugated, plastic-lined boxes to ship meat and poultry with washable, reusable containers./ Coffee filters: Use oxygen-bleached, rather than chlorine-bleached, coffee filters and test reusable filters./ Lids: Test reusable lids for salads and breakfasts./ Mugs, dispensers: Test refillable coffee mugs and bulk condiment dispensers./ Food wrappers: Recycle corrugated materials and test recycling paper that's been used to wrap food.