I was quite stunned recently when I discovered that McDonald's has been a long-time sponsor and partner of Clean Up Australia Day. This is an annual event which encourages people to clean up general waste in their local area and waterways.
I was struck by the incongruity of Clean Up's association with a corporation such as McDonald's, which generates large volumes of waste and which is a key contributor to Australia's rubbish problem. My latest article for Discordia, Clean Up Australia Day and McDonald's: An unpalatable alliance, looks at this issue.
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Clean Up Australia Day and McDonald's: An unpalatable alliance
March 2013
The
man on screen flashed a cheerful smile, and implored fellow Australians to join
him in the environmental campaign. Clean Up Australia Day was approaching, and
a year’s worth of refuse clogging the streets and waterways was awaiting an
army of eager volunteers.
His
manner was friendly, his work was admirable… and his shirt was adorned with the
unmistakable golden arches logo.
Recovering
from my initial shock, I decided the ad was a spoof. What a great satirical
clip, I thought. McDonald’s partnering with Clean Up Australia Day – now
wouldn’t that be a laugh?!
But
then the ad rolled to a finish, with no disclaimer in sight.
After
some searching on the Clean Up website, I discovered that McDonald’s has
been a sponsor, a “founding partner”, of Clean Up Australia Day since 1989.
Who
knew? I certainly didn’t, and thinking myself a bit ignorant, I quizzed a bunch
of friends. None of them had known either.
Rubbish
I
haven’t frequented a McDonald’s store since resigning as a grossly underpaid teenage
“crew member” of the food giant in the mid-90s. As an employee, I was privy –
and party to - the sickening scale of food wastage generated by McDonald’s each
day. Much of the food that was cooked was destined for the bin from its
inception.
As
food such as burgers were generally not made to order, but rather cooked en
masse and allotted into a timer system, those which exceeded their (brief)
use-by-date in the absence of a purchase were tossed into large bins. I recall carrying
out the nightly back-breaking task of emptying the bins - absolutely brimming
with wrapped, untouched burgers - into one massive disposal unit.
I
still often encounter the junk food corporation’s trash, in the form of its
branded packaging, strewn carelessly along streets and gutters. According to a
Keep Australia Beautiful study, 10 per cent of all litter in Australia originates
from McDonald's. When communities lodge opposition to a proposed McDonald’s
store in their area, concern over rubbish is usually a chief point of
contention.
This is despite McDonald’s Australia’s Clean Streets program, where lucky crew members supposedly
do regular trash-duty around a store’s surrounding streets.
Conscious or culpable?
The
ubiquitous fast food chain does not enjoy a healthy environmental track record.
McDonald’s uses an inordinate amount of packaging, the majority of which is
used only fleetingly before being discarded. Also, its ardent agenda to lure children
in-store means that plastic “Happy Meal” toys and their accompanying packaging
are perpetually on the menu.
Even
more alarming are some of the less visible aspects of its operations, such as
the impact of the company’s transportation and food refrigeration, and the
steep carbon and ecological footprint of their sale of resource-intensive meat and dairy products. 30% of the Earth’s entire land area and 70% of all agricultural land are appropriated for animal agriculture. Animal
husbandry is also a primary driver of soil erosion and sedimentation, high
levels of pesticide use and freshwater pollution.
It
is almost impossible to find reliable figures of annual food wastage generated in
Australia by McDonald’s. I’ve been told by a recent Australian customer that
McDonald’s now makes a range of its products directly to order, but I’m aware
that the timer system is still used for various items, and I can’t comment on
the company’s practices overseas.
However,
try as they might, it would be difficult for Clean Up to deny that McDonald’s
is synonymous with immense waste, environmental degradation, and a throw-away
culture. Yet, Clean Up has counted McDonald’s as a sponsor for more than two
decades, and McDonald’s proudly cites its yearly support of the Clean Up Australia
Day program.
The
chain’s Australian operations also proudly claim to participate in the Sydney Water Every Drop Counts initiative, but it could be argued
that this is a convenient diversion from the exorbitant water usage of the animal agriculture industries
on which McDonald’s so heavily relies.
Through
its association with these “green” initiatives and programs, and its much-publicised
(but arguably, inadequate) recycling and packaging changes across some markets, McDonald’s
has cunningly cultivated an image as a “green leader”. Its relentless PR machine ensures a
wealth of media releases and column inches are devoted to reporting on the
company’s latest “eco-friendly” innovations.
But
McDonald’s, which serves 69 million customers a day, is NOT an
environmental organisation, or a company producing “eco-friendly” products. It
is a corporation driven by an insatiable profit motive, which peddles junk food
with a colossal environmental, health and ethical toll.
An odd partnership = a
confused message
Many
undoubtedly believe that the food giant’s involvement in Clean Up Australia Day
should be applauded. That at least McDonald’s is taking some steps to clean up
the country’s rubbish, of which it’s a significant contributor. But let’s be real here - the motives
are not philanthropic.
McDonald’s
benefits from the association in more ways than one: it portrays an image of
environmental concern and vigilance, while increasing its advertising reach. The
arrangement is mutually beneficial, as the sheer monetary power of McDonald’s
would equate to healthy sponsorship funds and unparalleled promotion for Clean
Up Australia Day.
Maybe
Clean Up could not achieve this level of exposure without the backing of such a
high profile company. BUT – what is the campaign’s long term message? Shouldn’t
it be to reduce waste, the production of unnecessary items, and littering in
the first place? Clean Up Australia Day is, after all, a campaign which is
ultimately a band-aid measure in the context of the wider problem of
over-production, consumerism, and an unsustainable use of resources.
I
would like to see Clean Up partner with companies which promote sustainability
and environmental protection along their entire supply chain. Clean Up’s
association with McDonald’s promotes
a message that tokenistic gestures are adequate, thus undermining their
credibility as an environmental campaign.
I
do believe that Clean Up’s work is commendable. 16,000 tonnes
of rubbish was collected during the 2012 event. But the message of reducing and
taking responsibility for waste is fundamentally incompatible with the business
operations of a company such as McDonald’s.
The
junk food chain may have undertaken some tweaking and tinkering of their
operations, but there’s no escaping the fact that they are far from the
benchmark of an environmentally-friendly business.
Let’s
recognise this partnership for what it is: just another attempt at greenwashing.
Postscript: Obtaining
accurate figures about McDonald’s and its waste production proved difficult.
Furthermore, many of the web search terms related to the topic led directly
back to McDonald’s and its PR apparatus.
