Comments on: McMefi Recycling

Question: McMefi Recycling

bkdelong — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 18:37:56 -0800

McMefi - What packaging from McDonalds can I recycle?

I've been involved in a fundraiser catered by, sigh, McDonalds and we have bags of straws, straw packaging, cardboard packaging, paper burger wrappers, plastic cups, plastic cup covers, napkins, bags, fry packages, and paper hash brown wrappers. I can't seem to find any place that tells me which I can recycle. Is all of it recyclable? How much of it is made from recycled products? Searches resulted in a lot of lawsuit responses and vague FAQ information. Help!

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 18:53:34 -0800

Doesn't seem like whether it was made of recyclable products is that relevant, if they've already decided to use them. Just treat it like any other product you buy and would recycle.

Given that, here's an article on what they've done over time. The small changes are particularly fascinating: the napkins are one inch shorter, and the straws are 10% lighter.

By: jjg

jjg — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 19:10:06 -0800

The paper products should all be recyclable -- unless they've been used. Food-soiled paper can't be recycled.

As for the plastic, if it's not marked, throw it away. If it is marked, find out which kinds of plastics (the little numbers in the "recyclable" icon) you can recycle in your area.

By: bkdelong

bkdelong — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 20:23:07 -0800

re: recyclable, I was just curious if they use recyclable material. What's the defacto policy on "food-soiled" ? If food was in it but none is sticking to the wrapper/packaging, is it safe to recycle?

By: nathan_teske

nathan_teske — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 21:47:10 -0800

If food has touched it, it can't be recycled --- greases penetrate the paper and are difficult to extract. Also anything which is wax covered (e.g., paper cups) are a no go.

Drink carriers are usually a no go as well, but they biodegrade quickly.

By: lemonfridge

lemonfridge — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 09:43:22 -0800

In Japan, they seem to recycle everything in McDonalds.

They have seperate bins. You empty your drinks into a funnel along with ice (fingers crossed they dont recycle that!), cups in a tupe, plastics in one bin and then paper in another.
(best photo I can find)

I cant think of any reason for doing this other than recycling.

By: hilker

hilker — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 10:26:44 -0800

City of Boston recycling guide (PDF). For more information, call 617-635-4959 or 617-635-7574.

By: firstdrop

firstdrop — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 22:22:27 -0800

The bun.

By: bkdelong

bkdelong — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 05:55:02 -0800

That's a bit disappointing. One would think that someone has developed a good-enough process to "wash" food & grease out of paper and cardboard in the pulping process. The fact that most of McDonald's products are paper, fiberboard and plastic would make all of it recyclable.

So, from what I can tell, I can recycle:

* straws (plastic)
* straw packaging (paper)
* plastic cups (5 - Polypropylene)
* plastic cup covers
* Unused napkins
* bags (paper)

Though I haven't seen the plastic recycling mark anywhere on straws or the cup covers.