Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council has welcomed a new litter campaign by McDonald’s in Northern Ireland, aimed at tackling litter in parks, on paths and along roadsides in towns across the province.
The ‘30 Parks in 30 Days’ campaign will see McDonald’s employees undertake 30 litter clean-ups in parks and nature areas across Northern Ireland throughout the 30 days of June – including in Antrim and Glengormley. Led by the seven local franchisees across McDonald’s estate of 33 restaurants in NI, the clean-up events will be supported by local councils, elected representatives, schools and volunteer groups.
A recent litter clean-up in Antrim led by the McDonald’s restaurant at The Junction was attended by Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Billy Webb. He said:
“I am delighted that we are able to lend our support to this fantastic campaign. More than £2m is spent every year keeping our streets across the Borough clean and we are continuously pro-active in trying to reduce the impact of litter, but it still continues to be a challenge. As a key business with 3 restaurants in the Borough, it’s great to see organisations such as McDonalds taking action to address this serious issue.”
Paddy Cusack, Franchisee of the McDonald’s Antrim restaurant commented:
“At McDonald’s, we take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously. We very much share our customers’ and stakeholders’ disappointment and frustration at seeing litter discarded carelessly in parks, on paths and by the sides of roads.
“Whilst our employees regularly undertake voluntary litter clean-ups in these areas, this collaborative ’30 Parks in 30 Days’ campaign between our restaurants and local communities reinforces our strong commitment to tackling litter in Northern Ireland.”
Mr Cusack said the campaign adds further to
“a wide range of litter initiatives” rolled out by McDonald’s on a daily basis. Across the UK and Ireland, McDonald’s staff collect 27 tonnes of litter every year, on litter patrols that take place around every restaurant three times a day. Employees cover a total of 5,000 miles each week picking up all waste, be it our own packaging or that of other restaurants and retailers.
The launch of the ’30 Parks in 30 Days’ initiative comes following McDonald’s recent ‘Talking Rubbish’ campaign in Northern Ireland with popular social media and entertainment social publisher LADbible Ireland.
Building on the success of McDonald’s #GetInTheBin campaign, the digital campaign features videos of items of ‘talking rubbish’ discarded at iconic locations across Northern Ireland. Whilst intended to be light-hearted and engaging, the campaign carries a serious message about the detrimental impact litter is having on the world around us.
Mr Cusack continued:
“Alongside our practical and operational initiatives, we are committed to investing in proactive campaigns that help bring about behavioural change in relation to important societal and environmental issues such as littering.
“We have been hugely encouraged by the levels of engagement with our ‘Talking Rubbish’ campaign, which is targeted at the 18-34-year-old LADbible audience. With our first video in the series attracting over 25,000 interactions within a matter of hours on Facebook and Instagram, it is clear that a strong desire to make a positive change around littering is shared right across our society.”