In Singapore, McDonald’s operates more than 120 restaurants, 15 Drive-Thrus, over 30 dessert kiosks, over 40 McCafe outlets and a 24hr delivery service island-wide making it arguably the biggest and most established fast food chain in the nation.

The McDonald’s Corp is well regarded by the international community for its dedication to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability – leading its competitors with important initiatives and positive outcomes in many areas. One of these areas pertains to the use of sustainable packaging for food items, focusing on “Design, Sourcing & Recovery” to optimize packaging and to use only sustainably sourced materials that are recyclable or compostable.

Polystyrene packaging, or Styrofoam, is made of a petroleum-based substance and is not biodegradable. It is rarely recycled and is one of the most commonly found trash items on beaches and in the ocean where it breaks down into small digestible pellets which birds and marine mammals fatally mistake for food. Styrene, an ingredient of polystyrene is also listed as a possible carcinogen. This is released when Styrofoam is heated up and is toxic when consumed or inhaled, increasing the risk of leukemia and lymphoma. While chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the chemical that breaks down ozone in the troposphere has been phased out by manufacturers since the 1990s; toxic emissions produced during its manufacturing process remains an air pollutant

As early as 1990, McDonald’s Corp phased out the Styrofoam containers, which were then used for almost all food items, replacing them with paper packaging.

This move gave a boost to the nascent recycling industry at that time, increasing the demand for recycled fiber and dealt a severe blow to Styrofoam manufacturers. In 2013, McDonald’s announced it will no longer use Styrofoam cups for hot beverages, using instead paper cups. While this move came 20 years late, the move was welcomed by environment watches and made a similar impact to the industry, since McDonalds remains one of the biggest consumers of these products globally.

To appreciate the impact that McDonald’s Singapore makes, the following paragraphs are reproduced from McDonald’s Global Sustainability Scorecard 2011 (http://www.ketchup.sg/goodwork_enviormental.html) :

 “As early as 1989, McDonald’s restaurants in Singapore adopted Formacel as an ozone-friendly alternative to CFC containing Styrofoam food packaging. These were soon replaced altogether with paper and paper-based containers that allow for better waste management.

By 1991, McDonald’s had become Singapore's single largest user of recycled paper, saving the equivalent of 17,500 trees and 56 Olympic-size pools of water in the process. Currently, products with recycled content include carryout bags, napkins, drink carriers, tray liners, shipping containers, and some types of folding cartons. In all, they involve a mixture of post-consumer and pre-consumer materials, with a strong preference for post-consumer.

In 2003, each restaurant purchased approximately 23.3 tons of packaging. With so much paper and other material making their way through our restaurants, waste reduction is not only an important part of our responsibility towards the environment – it’s fiscally prudent.”

Despite the statements made in this report and the apparent business benefits of these practices, Styrofoam containers continue to be used in Singapore for the popular “Big Breakfast”, “Hotcakes” and other breakfast menu set items. It is worthy to note that this is neither the practice in many neighboring Asian countries including Hong Kong and China, nor in other parts of the world.

Having a progressively environmentally conscious population, Singapore society must insist that our government, businesses and consumer behaviors reflect our commitment to promoting and encouraging good environmental practices, and eradicating bad ones.

To follow its parent company’s exemplary example, McDonald’s Singapore should step up its efforts to do away with all Styrofoam food packaging that harms the environment, and lead the way in the industry for continual vigilance over practices and processes that protect our environment.

Please sign and circulate this petition, which will be submitted to the leadership and management of McDonalds Singapore, and its parent company in the United States to urge them to respond, and take necessary action as soon as possible.