Fast food packaging takes up a hefty chunk of our landfill space while effectively clear-cutting our forests. The golden arch proprietors dole out over 2 billion burgers a year, each individually wrapped in plastic coated paper and thrown into a paper bag with a few paper napkins–that’s about 75 per second, worldwide. Toss in a dozen other fast food conglomerates and we’re up to our ears in greasy garbage. What’s worse is that most of this paper makes its way into a trashcan after only about 5 minutes of use. Seeking to counter this consumptive cycle, Andrew Millar, designed biodegradable packaging for McDonald’s from grass paper, which has naturally grease-resistant properties.
In preparation for this school assignment, Millar frequented McD’s restaurants taking note of customer interaction with the packaging. Noticing that people would often rip their bags into a tray, he designed his bag to open out into a comfortable eating station. Folds in the bag keep inside items separated without the need for interior packaging. The outer part of bag is made from recycled pulp paper, and grease-proof grass paper lines the inside. Both are highly biodegradable and most definitely more sustainable than clear-cutting. Although Millar has yet to sell his idea to the golden arches or any other burger chain, we hope his ideas will be adopted on a wide scale basis.
