ROME (ITALPRESS) – Five public spaces, 250 volunteers involved, more than 100 bags of abandoned garbage, play areas and street furniture complements upgraded. These are some numbers of today’s McDonald’s collective action on the city of Rome. A gesture of love of the company towards the Capital, which tells of the bond not only with the Roman territory but also with the whole country that, in these 38 years of the brand’s presence in Italy, has welcomed the company with its restaurants, licensees and employees.Today, in fact, employees of both the Rome headquarters of McDonald’s and of all the other 58 restaurants in the city met in 5 different places in the capital city – Villa Borghese, Schuster Park, Villa Gordiani Park, Pineta Sacchetti Park and Via Appia Antica – with one common goal: not only to clean up abandoned garbage from some public spaces but also to requalify play areas and street furniture complements in order to generate the widest positive impact on the whole of Rome.The collective action took place – under the patronage of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Waste Cycle of Roma Capitale, with the technical support of Retake and operational support of AMA – in the presence of the institutions: at Parco Schuster with Amedeo Ciaccheri, President Municipio 8 of the Municipality of Rome; at Parco Villa Gordiani, instead, with Maura Lostia, Vice President Municipio 5 of the Municipality of Rome with responsibility for Public Works, Private and Public Building, Urban Plans, Transportation and Works.Monica Lucarelli, Councillor for Productive Activities and Equal Opportunities of Roma Capitale, commented, “Collaboration between institutions, companies, and citizens is essential to build a sustainable future for Rome. McDonald’s initiative, in synergy with Retake and the operational support of AMA, represents a virtuous example of how the private sector can actively contribute to the care and redevelopment of our urban heritage. More than 250 volunteers have chosen to commit themselves to returning cleaner and more livable spaces to the community, demonstrating that love for a city is also expressed through small concrete gestures that make a difference. Rome needs initiatives like this, which strengthen the sense of belonging and bring us closer to a more inclusive and sustainable city model. “Giorgia Favaro, Managing Director McDonald’s Italy, explains what this day means for McDonald’s: “Our bond with Rome is stronger than ever and special events like these are proof of that. Our first restaurant in Italy was opened in this very city, 38 years ago, in Piazza di Spagna, and also here a few months ago we opened our 700th store. This is a multi-year commitment that, thanks to our employees and licensees in the area, takes concrete form in concrete initiatives such as today’s, an example of what a company like ours can do for the city of Rome. More than 250 people united to give back to the citizens of Rome usable and livable public spaces and to raise awareness, at the same time, about a phenomenon as topical as ever such as littering, that is, the abandonment of waste in the environment”.A special day that inaugurates the new edition of McDonald’s “Together with you for the environment” days, an initiative launched in 2021 – in collaboration with Assoambiente and Utilitalia – with the aim of combating the abandonment of waste in parks, beaches, streets and public places in several cities in Italy. A project that in the last 3 editions has seen the involvement of more than 15 thousand people, more than 300 local associations and the collection of more than 10,000 bags of garbage for 350 stages carried out, half of which were sponsored. In Rome alone, in the last edition, more than 400 bags were collected for a total of 2 tons of waste, thanks to the contribution of more than 570 people.Giovanni Stifano, Corporate Contact Person for the Retake Foundation, commented, “Today’s in Rome is the second major stage of an itinerant journey that McDonald’s and Retake ETS have undertaken together, to which many others will be added, to bring our joint message in favor of caring for places to many Italian cities, convinced that adopting good practices is a way to create a positive relationship between people. People, in fact, are always at the center of everything Retake has been doing for more than thirteen years now, actively collaborating with Companies and Institutions and engaging in urban regeneration and redevelopment actions. To facilitate this journey together, Retake ETS has created a SPoC (Single Pont of Contact) dedicated to the McDonald’s network, with a training plan for individual restaurants in the national territory, through which to enhance and transfer the principles of our organization and provide organizational support for local events, in full respect of the territorial realities that we will touch.””Together with you for the environment” is a project that is part of ìm Lovin italy, McDonald’s declaration of love for Italy, which takes concrete form every day in a series of activities and initiatives aimed at the communities in which the brand is present with its more than 700 restaurants.The stages of the “Together with you for the environment” days are part of the broader path of ecological transition undertaken by the company for some time now starting with packaging and restaurants in terms of separate waste collection and recycling. Steps along the way include: the elimination of single-use plastic in favor of more sustainable materials such as paper, the installation of new recycling bins in dining halls and patios, in-house training, collaboration with Comieco to ensure the recyclability of paper packaging, and an awareness campaign on proper waste collection methods aimed at consumers.- photo McDonald’s press office-(ITALPRESS).
