McDonald’s Restaurants in West and South India Eliminate All Single-use Plastic

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India have replaced all single-use customer-facing plastic with eco-friendly and biodegradable alternatives. McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India are operated by Westlife Development Ltd. (WDL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. (HRPL). While the Government announced 2nd October 2019 as the deadline for single-use plastic elimination across the country, Westlife Development has been proactively eliminating plastic at its restaurants since 2017.

To ensure there is no single-use plastic at the restaurants, Westlife Development has

• Replaced plastic cutlery with wooden cutlery (spoons, stirrers, knives and forks)
• Replaced plastic cups with superior quality paper cups
• Introduced bio-degradable lids for hot and cold beverages
• Introduced straws made from corn starch extract and eventually replaced them with paper straws

Westlife Development has also cut down plastic usage at its offices. Plastic water bottles have been replaced with steel bottles. The company has also stopped using plastic trays, cups and paper holders in the office. As a result of these initiatives, the company has saved close to 500 tons of plastic in the last one year, thus eliminating landfill and helping the environment.

Westlife Development is committed to supporting the Government’s vision of making India greener and drive sustainability. It has been undertaking initiatives to optimize energy consumption across electricity, gas and diesel through its proprietary Energy Management System. It has also started converting the Used Cooking Oil from the restaurants to 100% bio-diesel to fuel the delivery trucks. In addition to this, the paper used for the packaging is FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) certified. FSC certification is considered the "gold standard" designation for wood harvested from forests that are responsibly managed, socially beneficial, environmentally conscious, and economically viable. Through these initiatives, the company has cut its carbon footprint by 4300 tonnes.

About Westlife Development

Westlife Development Limited (BSE: 505533) (WDL) focuses on setting up and operating Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) in India through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. (HRPL). The Company operates a chain of McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India, having a master franchisee relationship with McDonald’s Corporation USA, through the latter’s Indian subsidiary. 

About Hardcastle Restaurants

HRPL is a McDonald’s franchisee with rights to own and operate McDonald’s restaurants in India’s West and South markets. HRPL has been a franchisee in the region since its inception in 1996.

HRPL serves over 200 million customers, annually, at its 300 (as of June 30, 2019) McDonald’s restaurants across 41 cities in the states of Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and parts of Madhya Pradesh, and provides direct employment to over 10,000 employees. McDonald’s operates through various formats and brand extensions including standalone restaurants, drive - thru’s 24/7, McDelivery and dessert kiosks. The menu features Burgers, Finger Foods, Wraps, Rice, Salads and Hot and Cold Beverages besides a wide range of desserts. Several of the McDonald’s Restaurants feature an in-house McCafé.

The pillars of the McDonald's system – Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value – are evident at each of the restaurants that HRPL operates.