Rome, McDonald’s employees committed to cleaning up the Appian Way

The goal is to raise awareness of the phenomenon of littering, or rather the unruly abandonment of waste in public spaces. On 23 September i McDonald’s employeeswith Legambiente South Appia Il Ricciothey dedicated themselves to cleaning up via Appia Antica in Romeafter the first stop in Milan which saw the participation of over 120 employees, together with the Municipality of Milan and Amsato clean up the Aido Garden.

These were the starting stages of the second edition of “Days with you for the environment”Of McDonald’s, a project in collaboration with Fise Assoambiente and Utilitalia. The initiative is an invitation extended to the community and dedicated to environmental redevelopment activities throughout the national territory.

The budget

During the first edition which took place last year, McDonald’s, thanks to the collaboration of local institutions and administrations, local associations, schools and sports clubs, involved about 4,000 volunteers in the collection of abandoned waste, in over 100 stages in all Italy which led to the filling of 3,500 bags of waste for a total of 15 tons. The goal for this second edition is to involve 150 municipalities across the peninsula by the end of October.

Waste difficult to dispose of

The phenomenon of littering – which creates inconvenience both in terms of urban decor and environmental pollution – is increasingly topical, also exacerbated by the increase in take-away consumption. Throwing waste on the ground means introducing an object into the environment that will remain there for three months, if made of paper, to a century, if made of plastic. Important times if we consider that in Italy the plastic not collected reaches 500 thousand tons every year.

“I would like to express my full appreciation for this initiative which, involving the network of associations, volunteers, schools, contributes to spreading the values ​​of the care of the places where we live as a custody of common goods”, he declared Sabrina Alfonsi, Councilor for agriculture, environment and waste cycle of the Municipality of Rome. “The contribution of the business and production world of all sectors, starting with that of large catering, constitutes a fundamental support to the work of the institutions”, she then added.

The role of catering

“Catering plays a role of primary importance, not only from an economic but also from a social point of view. An example of this are our 640 restaurants that serve 1 million customers every day and can therefore support local institutions and communities in educating, raising awareness and speeding up the change required of citizens “, he recalled. Dario Baroni, CEO of McDonald’s Italia. Who then underlined the company’s commitment to promoting virtuous actions in the field of environmental sustainability, “also through the days for the environment and the sustainability roadshow, to involve national and local employees, licensees, customers and partners”.

Satisfaction was also expressed by Mirko Laurenti, president of the Legambiente Appia Sud – Il Riccio club, who recalled how the initiative should be framed in “a joint path that, in small stages, aims to improve the livability of the territory. Our goal is to launch open tables for joint discussions with the administrations and territorially competent bodies, associations like ours and large and small companies operating close to the historic Via Appia Antica to definitively solve the problem of the deterioration of the areas adjacent to the ancient road. consular”.

The days together with you for the environment are part of a broader path, undertaken for some time by McDonald’s towards ecological transitionstarting fromelimination of single-use plastic from packagingin favor of more sustainable materials, like paper, saving 1,000 tons of plastic every year. Furthermore, in Italy, 100% of paper packaging is certified, recyclable or recycled. Added to this is the commitment of the catering group to correct waste management, favored by the use of new containers for separate waste collection in the dining rooms and outdoor areas of restaurants, by training staff and raising awareness among consumers.