Crescent Link and Strand Roadstaff team up for anti-litter drive

Staff at the Crescent Link restaurant teamed up with staff and children from Holy Child, Creggan to clean up around the school and surrounding area, whilst staff from the Strand Road Restaurant participated in a litter pick on the Peace Bridge.

These events support a number of McDonald’s clean-ups which have taken place across Northern Ireland as part of Live Here Love Here’s Big Spring Clean. The campaign and partnership continues to encourage local communities to take action and work together to tackle litter in their area.

David Walker, local franchisee said: “We are really proud to see everyone work together to help support Holy Child, Creggan and make a difference to the Peace Bridge. Ensuring the local area remains free of litter and an enjoyable place to be is a key priority of ours and we would like to thank everyone involved for all their hard work.

“As a business we understand the important role that we play in making the area a better place.

“Whilst in the first instance we are keen to actively discourage littering, events like this one help make a huge impact on the local area.

“When local businesses like ours and community members come together to tackle local issues we are able to achieve so much more and this event is a perfect example of this.”

In 2015, McDonald’s coordinated 20 events across Northern Ireland with a total of 419 people taking part. As well as the larger-scale Big Spring Clean events, staff at every McDonald’s restaurant also patrol the streets daily to collect all litter that has been discarded, regardless of its origin.

Dr Ian Humphreys, CEO Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said: “McDonald’s continues to demonstrate its commitment to tackling the problem of litter, both through their own business practices and through their work with communities to clear up the local area.

“Once again, we’re delighted to see staff and members of the local community coming together to support Live Here Love Here’s Big Spring Clean campaign.

“Over the past six years, the clean ups have been a great success and working together is exactly what the campaign is about, renewing community pride in where we live and where we love.

“Together we can really make a difference.”

McDonald’s says it is committed to working with local communities to tackle litter having done so for over 30 years since introducing ‘Litter Patrols’ in the UK in 1982. Aside from larger scale litter events, McDonald’s staff patrol the streets around their restaurants at least three times a day to collect all litter that has been discarded, regardless of its origin.

To help reduce the amount of litter McDonald’s produces, the minimum packaging possible is used when serving food. As well as this McDonald’s aims to reduce all restaurant waste and increase the amount that can be recycled.