KFC has installed new recycling systems at a number of its stores across NSW, the first fast food chain to sign up for a new national recycling program, 'Do the Right Thing, Use the Right Bin' .
The KFC initiative, announced at the launch this week of National Recycling Week, is designed to provide away-from-home recycling facilities for an estimated 30 million customer visits each year.
The new recycling systems have been installed at 59 KFC restaurants in NSW for public use, with the chain planning to extend the facilities to its stores in other states in future.
The 'Do the Right Thing, Use the Right Bin' recycling initiative is funded and supported by the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC), Closed Loop Recycling and the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s Packaging Stewardship Forum.
The APC, the country's product stewardship system for consumer packaging, is also a supporting sponsor of National Recycling Week.
APC chief executive, Stan Moore, noted that Australians were already enthusiastic supporters of home recycling, and said the new KFC bins would enable consumers to more easily support away-from-home recycling.
“The Australian Packaging Covenant is proud to be able to collaborate with industry, and facilitate this response to the community’s desire to recycle and reduce littering,” he said.
Moore said that despite more than 90 per cent of Australian householders already being active recyclers, Australian households and businesses were still sending almost 22 million tonnes of material to landfill each year, with 31 per cent of this from commercial and industrial enterprises.
“National Recycling Week is a fantastic opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved to increase recycling rates by everyone working together – industry, government and consumers – and how we can continue to collaborate and build on these achievements,” he said.
He said that since 2003, the overall recycling rate of consumer packaging had increased from 39 per cent to 63.1 per cent in 2011.
Last year, he said, there had also been 36.4 per cent less consumer packaging being disposed of to landfill than in 2003.
