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Foam Cups/Food Containers

Years ago I was involved with a group, as mentioned in the article, which targeted McDonald's as a means of stopping the use of styrofoam containers and plastics because of their impact on the environment. This was before the theory that those substances also harm the human body. McDonalds had a powerful voice and had a big effect on our success.

Around that time, on a trip in Mexico, driving from Vera Cruz up to Guadalajara, we came to the outskirts of Mexico City. At that time it was the most polluted city in the world. Drivers were only permitted to enter the city on the day (s) that the sticker on their vehicle indicated, because of the emmissions of their vehicles. For miles outside the city there were no leaves on the trees, on the slopes at the side of the road, for as far up the hillside as I could see. The leaves had been killed by the pollutants and replaced by white plastic bags, clinging to the bare limbs. A forest of white plastic!

About 10 years later I was president of our Rotary Club and we had a highway clean-up project. We had a 1 mile stretch of a not very heavily traveled, 2 lane road in Wyoming. It was astonishing, the amount of trash that we cleaned up and the things that were thrown away along the side of the road, considering that the local dump was only a mile away. After that experience, anyone riding with me should not even consider throwing out as much as a gum wrapper!

I agree, Zapata. One little piece of trash adds up to hundreds and thousands pieces of trash along a highway when people are thoughtless. I'm not sure if this is a "big business" incentive, but it really doesn't matter.

along-for-the-ride;1307944 wrote: I agree, Zapata. One little piece of trash adds up to hundreds and thousands pieces of trash along a highway when people are thoughtless. I'm not sure if this is a "big business" incentive, but it really doesn't matter.


That's true, Along. I used the Big Business thing to illustrate how McDonalds' decision to eliminate the offensive containers did a lot to help us in our drive to clean up the environment. Maybe I should have used a different title but, right or wrong, there seems to be a lot of McDonalds' bashing now. They are a powerful influence and it worked for us in that situation.