Chick-fil-A isn’t exactly progressive. Their cows probably think anti-gay is a charming relative: Wee luv Antee Gay! So I shouldn’t be surprised they’re anti-recycling, too.
I just can’t bring myself to boycott them. Because, ladies, they do make a damn, good milkshake.
Also: my children will actually eat the food there. And the oh-so-germy playground is a great excuse for me and the hubs to enjoy a kid-free, lunch date over waffle fries.
When we’re done, I inevitably ask the “it’s my pleasure” people, “WHERE’S THE RECYCLING BIN?”
Because I keep forgetting that CHICK-FIL-A DOES NOT RECYCLE.
Meanwhile, there are, like, 20 other families gulping down milk and blindly tossing the plastic bottles into the trash. Probably assuming some tree-hugging employee will delightfully sift through all the mustard-sauce-sticky-junk at the end of the day and separate out the milk bottles to recycle. (Nope!)
My recycling obsession
I believe in global warming (and cloth diapering). So the thought of throwing anything into the trash that you can reduce-reuse-recycle makes me wanna vomit. I have children. They need a world where there are trees and swimming holes and uncluttered roadsides. Come on, ‘Merica, recycle your shit.
I’m pretty much a freak about recycling. After college, I moved 5 hours away from my parents and got a cute little apartment in a city that didn’t offer street-side recycling. This was the 1990s when curb-side pick-up wasn’t quite a thing in the South. Every time I made the trek home, I filled my trunk with paper and plastic and glass. (And somehow managed to fit a suitcase full of clothes in there, too.)
My parents thought this was ridiculous. Just throw away all that crap. Think how bad your gas mileage is from weighing down your trunk with it. Doesn’t that off-set any environmental benefits? Um, maybe. NO, THAT’S NOT THE POINT. My entire body recoiled at the thought of throwing it away. I could. not. do. it. Gas mileage and emissions be damned.
Yes, I’m a slight bit obsessed. Even today, when we visit the in-laws in anti-climate-change, one-stoplight, charming-town, Virginia, I randomly sneak coke cans out of the trash and hide them in my car to recycle when we get home. 6 hours away.
Chick-fil-A’s non-recycling obsession
Now I don’t know about where you live, but in our neck of the woods, the City recycles ALL things PLASTIC. (Unless you’re a plastic bag, then it’s off to Target or Harris Teeter you go.) And Chick-fil-A lives in the city. So it seems plausible that all those milk bottles could end up somewhere other than the local landfill.
Of course, I don’t know the rules about business vs. household trash. But when I’ve done my Marketing diva thing and hosted events, the City has gladly answered my call to supply a recycling bin. Perhaps Chick-fil-A has pursued this route. Probably not. I’ve never asked them.
So here’s how I’m making the world a better place, one Chick-fil-A visit at a time.
I gather up the random plastic crap from lunch and stash it in the (paper) kid’s meal bag to drag home and toss into my recycling bin.
I do have some decorum – I resist the OVERWHELMING urge to ask the other families sitting nearby if I can also have their stuff. Because my husband would divorce me for being socially unfit.
Of all the causes (dump the electoral college! save the puppies! help immigrant children learn English! take a meal to a home-bound senior!), I choose to worry over milk bottles.
Thoughts on other restaurants
Chick-fil-A isn’t the only restaurant with waste issues.
This scenario probably describes most every fast food chain out there. And don’t get me started on food quality, like antibiotic-filled chicken.
Let’s take Brixx Pizza on next, shall we? This is another weekly staple for our family. Because: FREE CRAYONS to entertain the kiddos pre-dinner. But if you don’t take the crayons home (who needs MORE crayons?), they throw them away. In fact, each kid gets TWO BRAND NEW CRAYONS. That they may or may not even touch. (Mine get lured away from the crayons by the fifty million TVs there, since we don’t watch TV at home.)
That’s a lot of crayons that go straight into the landfill.
What if Brixx had a bin for “used” crayons where you could deposit them when you left? Perhaps a local daycare or Title 1 elementary school in need of art supplies could send someone by once a week to pick up the loot. That doesn’t sound very time intensive – it just involves a box and a sign decorated with crayon, extolling the benefits of saving the earth or helping out the local schools.
(Or you can join me and commit to pocketing your free crayons and lugging them home to do SUPER FUN Pinterest crayon crafts!)
But back to Chick-fil-A, the number one restaurant of choice for moms with small children. Truett Cathy, I know you’re dead, but if you’re listening, please tell your sons it’s time to step up and recycle milk bottles. This seems like a no brainer, since you apparently make your employees wear shirts made of recycled plastic.
Sign the petition
I’m not the only one pushing Chick-fil-A. SIGN THE PETITION floating around the Internet – you can access it here: Tell Chick-fil-A they need to recycle.
The time is right. Our children, and mother earth, deserve better.
And while you’re at it, can you bring me another milkshake? All this food talk is making me thirsty.
How do you reduce-reuse-recycle? Share your thoughts below or on Facebook at MothersRest.
Photo credit, featured image: Luciana Ferraz from pixabay.com