Everyone knows reducing, reusing, and recycling helps the environment, but did you know it can also help your bottom line? Every day quick-service restaurants throw potential profits out with the trash, but better management of that waste could translate into huge savings and a better image for the industry.

“Reducing solid waste in restaurants makes great business sense for a number of reasons,” says Brent Dieleman, manager of technical programs for the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).

Waste reduction, Dieleman says, can reduce materials and supply costs, lower disposal fees, and even generate revenues from recycling, among other benefits.

“With the increasing trend towards corporate responsibility and consumers making the choice to support companies taking steps towards environmental protection, fast-food restaurants have the opportunity to stand out to consumers,” Dieleman says. “In an industry that many people perceive to be quite wasteful, this issue is becoming very important.”

McDonald’s was one of the first large chains to recognize that importance more than 15 years ago when it rolled out its Waste Reduction Action Program (wrap) in 1990. Developed through a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (now known as Environmental Defense), WRAP was designed to provide both environmental and economical benefits by reducing the chain’s solid waste impact.

“At that time, [waste reduction] was a huge public issue, and McDonald’s was very much at the center of the debate,” says Bob Langert, vice president for social responsibility at McDonald’s USA. “We wanted to be part of the solution.”

To that end, the company opened its doors to the Environmental Defense for six months of observation, which produced 42 proposed initiatives to improve McDonald’s waste management. That list eventually grew to 100 and resulted in such changes as the chain’s highly publicized elimination of its polystyrene foam sandwich packaging, an increase in the use of recycled content, and the increased use of unbleached fiber in packaging products.

In all, McDonald’s was able to eliminate 300 million pounds of packaging waste from its operations through WRAP.

“That’s 300 million pounds of packaging we don’t have to pay for in terms of materials,” Langert says, illustrating an important point: While the company was concerned with the environmental impact the changes had, equally important was the fact that they were financially sustainable.