Why the turnaround? Rensi cited advances in packaging and cooking technologies that make new containers more feasible. But the strongest factor may have been pressure from customers and environmentalists. Since August the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) had been working with McDonald’s to find ways to cut the company’s waste. A few weeks ago Executive Director Fred Krupp told Rensi that EDF would publicly disagree with a McDonald’s decision to continue recycling polystyrene. Although Rensi and Krupp played down EDF’s role, the bad press would have been the last thing the Golden Arches needed at a time of weakening domestic sales.
Big Mac may not have heard the last from the green movement.: While they’re still considering a number of possible packages, one of the wrappers the company will start using–a multilayered paper-based product–isn’t recyclable.
