Raunds McDonald's volunteers team up to tidy up local cemetery
Recently, local McDonald’s restaurant volunteers have teamed up to give back to the local community in Raunds.
25 crew members and helpers from the McDonald’s restaurant in Raunds, which is owned and operated by local Franchisee Perry Akhtar, volunteered to tidy up the local cemetery, Raunds Cemetery.
The volunteers cleared pathways and foliage with the help of the Mayor of Raunds, Councillor Paul Byrne, and Raunds Town Council volunteers. The team also planted herb gardens to create a haven for pollinators and increase biodiversity in the area.
McDonald’s Franchisee Perry Akhtar, who owns and operates 10 restaurants around Northamptonshire, said: “I couldn’t be prouder of my fantastic team for giving their time to their local community. We continue to put people at the very heart of what we do, and this is just one example of our dedication to being a good neighbour. It’s particularly exciting to be a part of initiatives like this this year as McDonald’s celebrates its 50th anniversary in the UK.”
Mayor or Raunds, Councillor Paul Byrne, said: “I’d like to thank the McDonald’s volunteers who gave up their time to help Raunds Town Council. The stunning transformation has made the cemetery a tidier place for all those who visit, while the herbs planted will have a positive impact on biodiversity in Raunds. We look forward to working with our local McDonald’s team again in the future.”
McDonald’s crew members have been cleaning up litter dropped in local communities for over 35 years. Crews across the UK cover a total of 5,000 miles each week on litter patrols (where they collect all types of litter, not just McDonald’s branded packaging) This equates to 260,000 miles, or the distance from Earth to the Moon since the programme began in the late ‘80s.
McDonald’s is tackling litter in local communities, both by litter picking and reducing the amount of waste its restaurants produce. The brand has been working to make recycling easier over the past four years too, and since 2015, has installed over 1,100 new recycling units, meaning it’s easier to separate plastics and cups for recycling in 85% of its restaurants. McDonald’s also collects used oil from its kitchens and turns this into enough biodiesel to fuel more than half of its delivery fleet.