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Restaurant Adds a Green Touch

July 16, 2009 7:19 AM

ABC News on Campus reporter Nadine Maeser blogs:

Those arches may be golden but some McDonald's are “going green.” A remodeled McDonald's in Cary, N.C., is now the third in the national chain to go green and the first to offer free electric-car recharging.

The  Cary McDonald's store  opened Tuesday, with people of all ages lined up in the early morning hours to see the fast-food restaurant and environment-friendly pilot project.

Cary McDonald’s owner and operator Ric Richards said he and his “green-team” are looking to help reduce waste sent to landfills and limit greenhouse gas emissions.  It is the third in the McDonald's chain to win certification under the strict Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, following stores in Savannah, Ga., and Chicago.

It took the Cary McDonald's four and a half months to re-model using recycled content.  The restaurant features table and decor walls incorporating renewable materials like sunflower seed board, wheat board, bamboo and kirei board.

The interior of the McDonald's was designed to boost the local economy and use local materials to reduce pollution created by long-distance transportation.  Much of the building's materials were replaced with such recycled materials as  metal studs, decor elements, tiles and cotton batt insulation.  To improve air quality, materials were  free of urea formaldehyde. 

And the same environmental standards were applied to  the exterior of the building.  More than 95 percent of the wood used was harvested from Forest Stewardship Council certified forests that use careful forestry practices.

  Richards hopes people will use alternative modes of  transportation rather than driving to and from in a gas-guzzling car.  But for those who choose to drive their cars to McDonald's might get a free treat.  Preferred parking spaces are set aside for hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles. And the restaurant  offers  two car portals for electric and hybrid vehicles where drivers can charge their cars for free. 

Jim Bartlett of Cary was one the first to receive a charging card. “I think this is a great idea.  I think the more people encourage it the more places will have options like this one,”  he said.    Bartlett said a single charge will take  his truck about 50 miles. 

The Cary restaurant includes LED lighting, which uses less wattage, and will save an estimated 550,000 gallons of water a year by using high-efficiency restroom and kitchen fixtures, combined with exterior water-saving features.  In addition, it uses a specialized air pressured blow drying system in the bathrooms, instead of paper towels. Outside, the restaurant uses drought-tolerant landscaping.

Educational  plaques adorn the walls in the bathrooms and throughout the restaurant.  A touch screen television allows for an interactive educational experience for people to learn more about helping the environment and going green.  The Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard shows designs for water saving, power saving and recycling processes.

Richards hopes that customers learn a thing or two about preserving the environment. “This restaurant is acting as a learning lab so we can see what the utilities savings are,” he said.  
       
 To celebrate the reopening, Richards gave the first 100 people who came into the restaurant and the first 100 through the drive-thru  each 12 free meals.  “I think as a McDonald's franchise during this economy, it’s important we offer back value,” he said.

Many people came out to get Happy Meals for the younger ones and learn a little bit about helping their environment. 

Janis Haynes, who lives in Cary, said that, aside from the Happy Meals, “Ecology and conservation are important” to her and she’s trying to educate children about that as well. 

And Richards agrees.  Education is a key part in going green and up until now, Richards says he knew very little about the environment before deciding to go green.

“My whole philosophy is that I think going green is the right thing to do and I’ve learned so much about what we can do about the precious resources that we have a limited supply of,” he said.  “It actually makes me want to live differently now.”

July 16, 2009 in environment | Permalink | Share | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: Mekhong Kurt | Jul 28, 2009 3:28:43 AM

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