Fastfood waste and what can be done?

Moots on 28/08/2013 - 20:39

I've started thinking about how much we get harassed due to wastage, most recent was a sticker on my bin from the council about not putting recycled goods in the recycled bin, but wait a minute.

Every time you go through maccas drive through, your order comes in a paper bag. Order a large salt with a small chips and get a free large paper bag, what happens to that bag? Gets thrown in the bin almost instantly, and McDonald's sponcers clean up Australia day!

I would love the option for a paper bag or not, if you did. Would you accept o bag? I know there may be chips etc that fall but for a meal. They can potentially save millions of paper bags yearly.

I only just realised the extent of wastage, got some take away noodles. Has anyone realised those chefs never turn off the running water as long as they bare infront of that pan cooking they have a direct flow of fresh water running continously. It's not hard to setup a quick on/off adapter. So much wastage…

Poll Options

  • 20
    Would you decline a paper bag if offered?
  • 27
    I guess the paper bag is acceptable, even though it goes into the bin anyway.
General Discussion

Comments

  • cwongtech on 28/08/2013 - 22:26
    +8

    McDonald's sponcers clean up Australia day!

    I think McDonalds needs to sponsor you for a dictionary.

    Has anyone realised those chefs never turn off the running water as long as they bare infront of that pan cooking they have a direct flow of fresh water running continously. It's not hard to setup a quick on/off adapter.

    From what I've seen, the water there is to stop the metal around the wok/pan from becoming too hot since its continually exposed to heat, i.e. you'd rather have lots of warm water rather than a MASSIVE piece of metal that would burn your hand off if you ever touched it. If you've ever worked in a kitchen before mate, you'd know how goddamn hot it is.
    Metal = Good thermal conductor.
    Water exposed to fire constantly + cool water = warm water
    The water on the metal surface isn't boiling. Probably around 60-80 degrees.

    If you want to, I guess you could pay for them to redirect their water drain to a garden if that makes you feel any better Moots. Or you could help them design a piping system for the coolant water to be redirected outside, air-cooled before it's pumped back into their kitchen again. Air-cooling requires quite a lot of surface area, not to mention, it won't work on a very hot day, and additional cost to set it up, the efficiency of such a cooling system would be dependent on the ambient temperature.
    Or you know, you could always cook with a small fire that will take a lot longer to heat up the food. That'll work well in a restaurant yeah?

  • Gecko on 28/08/2013 - 23:30
    +5

    How about toilet paper? How much toilet paper are we throwing away per year!

    • highdealer on 01/09/2013 - 21:58
      +3

      do what ozbargainer do, wash your ass and save money on toilet paper.

      • Yummy on 01/09/2013 - 23:08
        +1

        and 3 sea shells joke coming right up…

      • JayM on 02/09/2013 - 19:06
        +7

        Need to install Bidets. Save toilet paper or save water or use the water coming off the woks as the bidet stream. Pre-warmed water! Install public toilets next to restaurants for that very purpose. Problem solved.

  • retiredfeline on 29/08/2013 - 00:06
    +5

    That piece of paper is insignificant compared to the cost of food wastage in this and other developed countries. Think of all the resources that went into growing, processing, transporting and preparing food that gets thrown out.

    PS: You can hang to the bag and reuse it to carry your lunch to work next time. Just have to be careful not to stain it with grease.

    • scrimshaw on 29/08/2013 - 00:17
      +2

      compared to the cost of food wastage in this and other developed countries.

      on the flipside, we do have food waste management systems and organisations that seek to minimise food wastage
      http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/enterprisemelbourne/waste/Pa…

      Maccas paper bags are made out of recycled paper, and paper that has come into contact with grease can't really be recycled again. So unless scientists can somehow create a material that is extremely cheap to produce, with minimal CO2 foot print and is biodegradable, recycled paper bags remain the most feasible and eco-friendly option for food packaging.

  • KBZ on 29/08/2013 - 00:28
    +7

    I spent way too much time trying to understand the link between Moot's notice from the council about his recycling and Macdonald's paper bag usage to how an Asian chef uses too much water.

    • pauper on 29/08/2013 - 03:17
      +6

      I like the way you think, I did too.
      My conclusion is that Moots needs to look at more healthier food options :p

  • BluebirdV on 01/09/2013 - 12:15

    Just think. That 6 bucks or whatever it costs for a Big Mac could buy a helluva lot of rice. Guess what. That rice could feed an entire family in Asia for a week. Now did someone mention waste? Do I really need a Big Mac?

    • Macgyver on 01/09/2013 - 12:24
      +9

      Yeah and you can sell your house too and live in a the car/small shack. Imagine the rice you could buy!!

      • BluebirdV on 01/09/2013 - 17:00
        -4

        If a million Australians did this, there would be enough left over to educate and feed millions of people who aren't as lucky as we are. But sadly, most people only care about their own needs.

        • Brick50 on 02/09/2013 - 21:25

          Who was selfish enough to neg you?

        • BluebirdV on 02/09/2013 - 21:53

          I just tried to see who negged but it only tells you the plus votes.

        • natman on 03/09/2013 - 13:54

          Have you done this yourself and given the money to poor people?

        • BluebirdV on 03/09/2013 - 17:50
          +2

          Yes, I try to practice what I preach. I spent over a year living in the Philippines. They are very poor. People live in houses that leak! I gave away about $4000 to people over there. I believe in economy. I live in a small hut which costs $40 a week to rent.

  • tonyjzx on 01/09/2013 - 13:53
    +1

    western society is built on waste, its a consumer based system

    we buy 1,000,000 cars a year in Australia - do we need them all?

    your only practical choice is to patronise these stores or not

    i rarely eat at mcdonalds so perhaps i might feel i dont contribute to their pile of waste

    • scrimshaw on 01/09/2013 - 14:17

      western society is built on waste, its a consumer based system

      Population growth aside, I think there is more of a correlation between wealth and waste. You don't think wealth has anything to do with it? Richer countries will generally produce more waste than other countries, and it's not just us 'westerners'. China is growing strongly in the economic sector and everyone there loves to flaunt their flashy cars and expensive I-gadgets. Pretty much the same wherever you go - its not just confined to the US or AU.

      If anything, its the 'race to the top' of the social ladder that contributes most to garbage pile — people throw away things they take for granted in order to make room for more.

      We're all addicted to consumption… and it's also the reason why Ozbargain exists. You want more for cheap!

      i rarely eat at mcdonalds so perhaps i might feel i dont contribute to their pile of waste

      LOL.

      If you really want to get to the root of it all, don't have kids. After all, kids love Maccas, therefore, more kids = more waste.

      • tonka on 01/09/2013 - 19:28
        +1

        Also I lot of social pressure to throw things away. My grandad used to manage any small projects around the house from old bits of timber and recycled screws he put aside. Today that is frowned on and called hoarding.
        Furniture, crockery etc used to be for a lifetime and age with you.

  • BluebirdV on 01/09/2013 - 16:52

    It makes me wonder when I see all these people driving around in big expensive cars. Especially in the city.
    Makes me think…Wouldn't the money from all those $58,000 4WD be better spent on building a fast & efficient train like they have in Japan & China? Imagine in Sydney or Melbourne if trains were so good that no one would even bother driving. What's so good about cars?

    • scrimshaw on 01/09/2013 - 17:04
      +3

      What's so good about cars?

      The overcrowding issues. It's not all sunshine and lollipops, not even in cities with high speed rail networks and bullet trains.

    • cwongtech on 01/09/2013 - 17:18
      +3

      1) Privacy
      2) You don't have to walk to a station
      3) You don't have to wait for late public transport, or miss the ones that come early
      4) It's YOUR vehicle
      5) Go anywhere you want
      6) Train stations take a while to set up
      7) ShCityRail

      Also, the population density in Australia vs China/Japan is MUCH lower, we got more land!
      Bottomline: Public Transport sucks, Sydney Mayor sucks as well, encouraging more people to ride around in the city on their BICYCLES on ROADS.
      As if the peak hour traffic isn't enough, lets reduce some road lanes and introduce cycling lanes!

      If you haven't seen peak hour traffic in Sydney before, I recommend you get on a bus in the city. Stop times down the road = 20 minutes!

      We're getting a little off-topic here from Moots' post btw :D

      • tonyjzx on 01/09/2013 - 20:26
        +7

        if i spend $58,000 on an SUV that's my money

        however the govt. decides to fund their public transport fiasco that's their issue and not my $58,000

        you guys are denying a few basic needs… people want kids, people want their own house, people want to drive an awesome car, people want to eat good food and claim their 'share' of the good life

        and that means a lot of packaging, carbon, pollution, dead animals, nappies etc.

      • Brick50 on 02/09/2013 - 21:27
        +2

        Wait why do you despise bikes?
        Do you wish that every single person who was riding a bike would have to sit in front of you for hours waiting in a traffic jam?
        If less people rode you would have to wait a lot longer….

        I think your just jealous you can't ride because you might get a heart attack after a couple of kilometres….

        • cwongtech on 02/09/2013 - 23:55

          Wait why do you despise bikes?

          I despise the Sydney Mayor for focusing on terrible "innovative" ideas. Bike lanes are a good way to encourage people that live around the city to use a bike rather than drive 5 minutes. I'm not picking on bikes in particular, however, funding could have been better allocated, why focus on luxuries like bike lanes, when the traffic flow efficiency could have been improved instead? I'm a bit iffy about the bike lanes is because of all these free bike-related deals on OzBargain that is just trying to rack up support for the Sydney Mayor. I have nothing against bike riding lanes, but they did what they were created for, grabbing people's attention about these new bike lanes, in my case, in a negative light.
          Again, I don't hate the bike lanes, but they should have not been implemented before the efficiency of traffic flow is maximized.
          Currently, the Sydney Mayor is trying to introduce Light Rail into an already busy Sydney CBD.
          We really do NOT need light rail to Randwick, there's a bus every 5 minutes, towards Randwick (outbound of city) is fine. Inbound however, can take 20 minutes for a turn in peak hour traffic. Source: Tripview + personal experience. I go to UNSW, and travel via this route, and it's not like the buses are overcrowded either. We need better management of roads, not additional features on the side that distracts the public from the problem.

          Please look at the highlighting I have drawn in Microsoft Paint in conjunction of Google maps.
          https://www.dropbox.com/s/2yixgetdsn0c6aq/BusBottleneck.png
          The purple arrows show the directional flow that the buses follow if they go past QVB to pick up commuters. Where it is outlined in RED, that little "Turn" there on Druitt St, can only fit 2 buses for turning right, the road the QVB buses take to leave the City via SydHarbBridge. It has traffic lights at the front and back where the 2 buses will fit, and there are also other traffic as well (there is a bus lane, but it's for Druitt St bus-stops, which is past the bottleneck). It takes literally 20-30 minutes, to get from York Street, to Clarence Street in peak hour traffic. The Druitt St bottleneck, has two sources of buses, the QVB buses that run along York Street, and the buses crossing the lights at GeorgeSt+ParkSt intersection.

          Normally, when 1 or 2 buses go past QVB every 15 minutes, this is not a problem.
          During peak hour, York Street alongside QVB will be two lines of buses, one in the bus lane ready to go, the other is for the bus stop for passenger boarding.
          N.B. Peak Hour conditions is when you are doing a "stress-test".

          This bottleneck affects buses coming into the city, ready to pick up passengers to go outbound. When you get on a bus outbound of the city, and you're lucky enough to be outbound on SydHarbBridge, look to the right. There are buses inbound for the city, all lined up on the bus lane, and the line extends to the START of the bridge. Also, City-Inbound Buses step off the SydHarbBridge, and into York Street, the same one that ends at the QVB bus jam.

          Tl;Dr version: Sydney Mayor focuses on adding distracting side projects which do not address a major issue with public transport. The turn which the QVB buses go through, allow a maximum-flow of 2 outbound buses every traffic light cycle. This blocks inbound buses as well, extending all the way to the start of the SydHarbBridge.

          I think your just jealous you can't ride because you might get a heart attack after a couple of kilometres….

          You're*
          Too many KFC deals on OzB lately.. what can I say.. :)
          Also, I'm not rich enough to live close to the city in a ride-able distance, I don't think ~15km is considered "couple of kilometres".
          It also looks like you're in Queensland, not in Sydney. I guess you'll just have to take my words for granted unless you've been to Sydney. I've heard Queensland public transport is better than Sydney by far, so you won't understand our pain..

        • Brick50 on 03/09/2013 - 07:23
          +1

          Nah mate, 15k is easily ridable.
          Although I definately do understand where your coming from.

          I live in Bendigo, our buses are pretty frequent and only cost $1.10 for 2 hours.

          But I ride mostly everywhere

  • BluebirdV on 01/09/2013 - 17:48
    +3

    Public transport sucks? What about sitting for hours in peak hour traffic? How about road rage? Then there's reckless drivers who put our lives at risk. If they improved public transport so it was fast & efficient, and build enough trains to accommodate people, it would be a great alternative.

    • cwongtech on 01/09/2013 - 22:58
      +3

      Public transport sucks? What about sitting for hours in peak hour traffic?

      That's partially due to the design of Sydney roads and whoever manages it.
      Let's take a look at the Lane Cove Tunnel project.
      Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_Cove_Tunnel#Changes_to_Epp…
      Whoever wrote it, did not mention the previous configuration of the roads.
      Epping road runs from Epping into Lane-cove, basically the road before it becomes the Freeway inbound (and outbound in the opp direction)into Sydney CBD.
      Because they're trying to force people into the Lane Cove Tunnel for profits:
      Pre-LCT: EppRoad = 2 x public lanes + 1 x T2 lane (ea direction)
      Post-LCT: EppRoad = 1 x public lane + 1 x bus lane (ea direction)
      So it's obvious the T2 lane was repainted in the bus lane (no biggies there)
      Now onto the two missing public lanes, post-LCT.
      They were filled in with concrete, in the middle of EppRoad (1 lane worth), there are now plants, on the side of Epping road there is a massive cycling strip that runs all the way from North Ryde to Lane Cove.

      I remember in Hong Kong, after the traffic stopped flowing (Standstill at NYE), the cars started to clear up again after five minutes (this was a high-traffic road). In Sydney, the effect of one traffic accident echoes throughout an entire region for hours during peak hour.

      How about road rage? Then there's reckless drivers who put our lives at risk.

      Road rage has NOTHING to do with the inefficiency of the roads or public transport system. They're just terrible drivers that shouldn't have their license.

      If they improved public transport so it was fast & efficient, and build enough trains to accommodate people, it would be a great alternative.

      Good ideas, but politicians always listen to the bulk of voters, and funding always gets redirected to some useless crap. You may be enlightened, but Mrs SoccerMum next door may prefer funding towards renovation of an adequate football field, rather than go into a better public transport system.
      Check out the statistics. Over 70% of average trips on a weekday are made by private transport.
      Point being: Those that whinge about public transport will probably not be able to afford a car anyway, so we're going to get dicked around regardless. Price changes to the system would be inelastic to those who stop using it, since there is no financially viable substitute for travel (People on 100k income make up 5% of each travel method).
      http://www.bts.nsw.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/80/trans2012-12-p…

      • kirasuran on 02/09/2013 - 10:27
        +2

        Why was this negged? Everything in this post is correct. The whole LCT thing is a massive waste, forcing people INTO a tunnel when they could travel for free, on the road? Reducing the lanes to one? Yeah, I now hate driving down lane cove road to the city but it's free so I have to put up with it, better than adding about 4$ to the trip.

        What's more, is that in Sydney at least, we should consider how many car trips are made with ONE PERSON in a 4/5 seater car - this is an absolute waste of resources too. Big cars take up more space more petrol etc etc etc … ideally we should move to 1 or 2 person cars, and only use the big car if we need to carry stuff or carry more people. In an ideal world…

        • BluebirdV on 02/09/2013 - 21:42

          "What's more, is that in Sydney at least, we should consider how many car trips are made with ONE PERSON in a 4/5 seater car - this is an absolute waste of resources too."

          Good Point. I've heard in Germany car pooling is popular. It's done through the web. People with a car offer to share rides with other people and they split the costs.

        • cwongtech on 02/09/2013 - 22:54

          Issue of Stranger Danger! No seriously, it is a problem, also some people who drive may have crappy cars, or conversely, passengers may be stinky unhygienic people… if you own a nice car, that's not really something you want to have to deal with. It's a good idea, but I think you have to start within community groups, or neighbours.
          Online does seem like a good idea, but I'm not sure how that will play out with differing levels of expectations

          According to the statistics provided by our friendly Bureau of Transport Statistics, it seems from the 70% (not exact) of trips made, 50% of all travel is done by a driver, where 21.5% is done by a passenger. So we can say, for every 5 private vehicle, only 2 of them have passengers on average.

        • kirasuran on 03/09/2013 - 10:20

          Which still means that if we switched to something like, for example, smart cars, then everyone would be better off. Small, compact, economical, 2 seater cars.

        • BluebirdV on 03/09/2013 - 18:12
          +1

          Stranger Danger? Doesn't seem to be an issue in Europe. Perhaps you could meet the people first. I'd imagine the kind of people who did this would be in to saving money and the environment. I think they would most likely be pretty cool people. If you wanted to be more sure, perhaps you could all undergo a police check? Anyone want to start an Ozbargain Community Car Pooling Group?

        • cwongtech on 03/09/2013 - 18:41

          Stranger Danger? Doesn't seem to be an issue in Europe

          Mate have you not watched Taken?

          I think they would most likely be pretty cool people. If you wanted to be more sure, perhaps you could all undergo a police check

          That sounds like a good idea, a police check sounds like a solid safety background check, however, some people may refuse to take one (might take time, might cost them) and the police might be a bit peeved off having to produce constant reports of the public… for carpooling (police might not get anything out of it, unless they put a high fee on one, which would discourage drivers.)

          Maybe an anonymous community rating system, then again, it wouldn't be so "anonymous" since most cars can only have 4 passengers, not hard to figure out who's been giving you the crappy reviews as a driver :P
          Then again, you could trash them as a terrible passenger :D

        • BluebirdV on 03/09/2013 - 19:48

          Would be interesting to do some research and find out how many people have been hurt or killed by people involved in car pooling. I don't think criminals would be targeting these groups. These people are like-minded individuals that want to cut costs getting to work. You have a valid point, but I'm sure the likelihood of being killed in a car crash is far higher.

  • tonka on 01/09/2013 - 19:36
    +2

    Surprised there is so little support for the OP.
    Have a walk around the supermarket and for an example see exactly how much packaging you would go through to make a sandwich.
    I feel too guilty to buy the cookies I like at the supermarket, packed in a plastic tray, then wrapped in plastic, then but in a cardboard box. (3 layers of packing for cookies).
    Bought some enloop batteries the other day again 3 layers of packaging then a big spiel on the bag about how they were all about the environment and sustainability.

    • Macgyver on 01/09/2013 - 20:03
      +2

      The 8 pack eneloops pack are good when you need to repackage them for travel/store.

    • ihbh on 01/09/2013 - 20:11
      +4

      Went to Aldi to do my grocery today. Grabbed an empty box and carry my stuff to the car. Brought it home to store recyled paper that goes in the paper recycling bin. All the discarded food/plant stuff I try to compost in the garden where possible - e.g. peels.

  • cheapchappy on 02/09/2013 - 08:34

    McDonalds is sickening. Real food is easy to get, why go there at all?

    • Weezle on 02/09/2013 - 22:20

      There's a reason it's called fast food, people are just lazy.

  • grasstown on 02/09/2013 - 18:43

    I tried to select both answers in the poll and it only let's me pick one .
    Reminds me of those fudged surveys where you have to give an answer even though your answer is not one of the choices available. I would tell them not to give me a bag.

  • ankor on 02/09/2013 - 21:19
    +1

    I want the paper bag for the convenience. It also acts as an extra layer of insulation to keep the food hotter on the way home.

  • Wade on 03/09/2013 - 12:08

    If you're concerned about waste, look at places like Japan where they offer you a plastic bag if you buy a 10 cent piece of gum! Most don't decline either. I'm not sure about other countries, but I would presume it's similar.

    In Thailand, when you buy a glass of coke from a vendor on the street, they pour the drink from the glass into a plastic bag filled with ice, tie it up at the top and wack a straw through the opening.

    There are plenty of countries with significantly worse recycling practices than Australia.

    • BluebirdV on 03/09/2013 - 18:05

      Maybe you should check this out…..Japan actually leads the world in recycling. You can also see where Australia ranks on the graph:

      http://shop.ecology.com/?art=recycling_infographics

      "Did you know that Japan has a glass bottle return rate of nearly 100%? And, it recycles or composts almost all of its other waste…sending only 16% to landfills. Other countries, such as Austria, also have high success rates. In comparison, the US sends almost 70% of its waste to landfills.
      What’s making the difference?"

      • Wade on 03/09/2013 - 19:22

        Wow, there you go.
        Now I think about, I was only today reading an article about how that's one of the top things that piss of Japanese wives - Not putting products in the correct recycling bin! lol (My fiance is Japanese)

        But if that's the case, then we need to have an emphasis on recycling, not saving plastic from manufacture. Seriously, if you go into a 7/11 (or any convenience store) in Japan, you will be offered a bag for even a 10 cent item, and not many say no. (free, of course, unlike here in Adelaide where we pay 15c for a bag if we want one)

        With 35,000 major branded convenience stores in Japan (between 7/11, Lawson and FamilyMart), that's a lot of plastic!

        Would one say then, considering our population, it doesn't matter about how much we manufacture, it just matters that we recycle it?

  • Koolbargain on 03/09/2013 - 16:09
    +1

    THIS IS OZBARGAIN!

    Would you prefer

    small fries + free paper bag

    OR

    small fries

    Don't give us less value for our money. Paper bags make great helmets for uglies.

  • BluebirdV on 03/09/2013 - 17:57

    Anyone here from South Australia? Last time I went there they charged for each plastic bag. Can't remember how much, maybe 10c or so. They do this to encourage people to buy reusable bags. They also give you 10c for each can or plastic bottle you bring in to recycle.

  • ankor on 03/09/2013 - 19:43

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF0IhyAasWw

    Well it IS related to maccas..

  • bbourizk on 03/09/2013 - 23:44

    Don't eat the crap and you'll save plenty of bags.

  • Forfiet on 04/09/2013 - 00:06
    +1

    I use the bag to line boxes I keep veggies in the fridge with(unless bag is greasy) plus like stated earlier it keeps food warmer till i get home.

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