UK – American multinational fast food chain McDonald’s has partnered with environmental charity Hubbub to launch a US$9,627.53 (£8,000) #InTheLoop grant fund to support local UK waste recycling.
Hubbub says the fund, provided by McDonald’s, will support two new projects to introduce or improve their recycling infrastructure using the #InTheLoop toolkit.
As well as the funding, Hubbub says it will provide ongoing support based on the charity’s expertise and experience in delivering recycling campaigns.
Organizations such as local authorities, business improvement districts, shopping centers, major property owners and transport hubs are invited to apply and the application deadline is 17 March 2023.
Co-founder of Hubbub, Gavin Ellis, said: “Recycling on the go continues to be a significant challenge, with less than half of local authorities currently having on-street recycling systems.
“Previous #InTheLoop trials have helped us define an effective approach to out-of-home recycling, so we’re delighted that additional funding from McDonald’s will enable two more organizations to trial #InTheLoop interventions in their area to help address littering, boost recycling rates and reduce waste sent to landfill or incineration.”
First trialed in Leeds in 2018, with support from McDonald’s and other businesses, Hubbub says #InTheLoop is the “UK’s biggest collaborative approach” to boost recycling on the go.
Swansea, Edinburgh, Dublin, Wimbledon, Telford & Wrekin and Lambeth have all run similar pilots.
Hubbub says these involved installing and testing a range of colorful and eye-catching bins to improve recycling rates.
Across all these #IntheLoop pilot projects, Hubbub says over 500 bins have been rolled out and over 2.5 million plastic and glass bottles and cans were collected and recycled.
The #InTheLoop toolkit, which was funded by the environmental compliance scheme Ecosurety, brings together “key learnings and insights” gathered from these trials and aims to act as a blueprint for the winning projects, Hubbub says.
The partnership comes at a time when McDonald’s reportedly produces about 3 metric tonnes of packaging waste every minute, almost two million metric tonnes of packaging waste a year, according to research published in SidmartinBio.
However, the company stated that as of 2021, approximately 82.7% of its primary packaging materials and 96.8% of its primary fiber packaging comes from recycled or certified sources. It aims for 100% certified, recycled or renewable materials by the end of 2025.
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