Should Fast Food Restaurants Recycle?

Chances are, if you go to a fast food restaurant in the United States, you won't find a restaurant that offers recycling.  All garbage (plastic, paper, food, drink, etc.) goes into one bag that eventually ends up in the local dump.  Only a few restaurants nationwide participate in a recycling program.

We, in general, talk about global warming and environmental problems and how they affect our lives, but in reality we prove over and over that we are a wasteful country.  The amount of garbage created from all the fast food restaurants around the U.S. is astronomical. 

Other countries, such as Taiwan and South Korea, offer recycling receptacles in their fast food restaurants.  There are containers for food, paper, liquid and waste.  With a little education, customers can easily do the same thing here in the United States.

The question is, is it feasible for restaurants to do?  Will they make or lose money by implementing a recycling program in their restaurants.  It would seem that many are not interested because they aren't being pressured to change.  Not enough people show they care to make the policy change worthwhile.

What can we do?   

Jonathan Lee, creator of GoGreen Man, became fully aware of the problem on a recent trip to D.C.    The twelve year old and his family were on their way to participate in Earth Day on the National Mall when they stopped at a popular fast food restaurant to get some quick food.  After they finished their food, they were astounded by the amount of waste created from a single stop for food.  (see picture)

It was then they decided to do something about it.  After going to numerous area fast food restaurants and checking to see if they had recycling, Jonathan and his family created a video.  The video was uploaded to CNN's iReport and was later shown on CNN.  Entitled "GoGreen Man's Earth Day Quest," the video highlighted the amount of waste created from a single meal combination at various fast food restaurants.  Some restaurants created less garbage than others, but none of the restaurants visited recycled.

What does this mean?

We don't do it at home.  If we recycled, composted and watched our garbage outtake at home, we'd be diligent about doing it when we ate out, too.  For most of us, we don't think about it in a fast food restaurant because we don't do it at home either.  Or, those who do recycle or compost aren't eating at the fast food restaurants like the rest of us!

Jonathan Lee (a.k.a., GoGreen Man) is on the right track.  We need to be accountable for the garbage we put in landfills on this earth.   It is estimated that the U.S. generates 230 million tons of trash each year. That's just under 5 pounds a person, per day!¹

If we could help reduce that amount by implementing a recycling program in fast food, and other, restaurants, just think how much that number would drop!  In addition, and yes, we're stretching it a bit, wouldn't the increased demand for recycling/composting create more jobs?  That would be a long term way to help decrease the jobless rate.

In many places, a recycling program rewards its city with money for the recycled products it generates.  Could the same not be true for restaurants that recycle?  Not only would they be saving on garbage collection fees, but possibly get a rebate for recycling.  It's a possible win-win situation.

What can you do?

Do what Jonathan has done.  After becoming aware of the garbage and lack of recycling, he created a video, which was uploaded to CNN's iReport, and talked to some Senators while he was in Washington D.C.

Jonathan spoke with Senators Amy Klobuchar, Kay Bailey Hutchison and Mary Landrieu about the garbage that was created from fast food restaurants and that none of the restaurants they visited recycled.

A visit to the Senate cafe in the basement of the Senate building shows that at least where the staff eats is on the right track.  The cafeteria uses biodegradable cutlery and the food containers are made from plant sources.  There is also a bin for food waste.