Furious farmer says McDonald’s needs to make one big change | UK | News


A frustrated farmer has launched an impassioned appeal to McDonald’s, urging the fast-food giant to revamp its packaging to crack down on litter louts tarnishing the British countryside.

Tom Martin, known as ‘Farmer Tom’ to his 20,000-strong following on X, is no stranger to taking a stand and it’s been five years since he first appealed to the company to take action.

Now, after continuously finding discarded McDonald’s packaging strewn around his Cambridgeshire land, he has reiterated his calls.

In an X post this week, Tom laid out his innovative idea, saying: “Hey @McDonaldsUK – if this fast food bag had the license plate of the owner printed on it, don’t you think they’d think twice about spoiling our countryside? It’s a simple fix using technology you already have; come on, get to it!”

It comes five years after he first contacted the global chain for ecological action in a similar rant. Back in November 2019, Tom clamoured: “The technology is available, and as soon as @McDonaldsUK start printing car registration numbers on takeaway packaging, this constant tide of littering will stop. Come on guys – what a Christmas gift to the countryside (and taxpayer) that would be!”

Holding a paper takeaway bag bearing the iconic McDonald’s golden arches logo, Tom’s latest plea rapidly caught the eye on social media, amassing over 500,000 views in under a day. Despite the flurry of online support and rallying cries backing his proposal, McDonald’s is seemingly yet to respond.

“Absolutely agree!” one person declared. While another said: “I suggested this to them a while ago. No reply at all to my emails. It’s so easy to do.” Whilst a third added: “100% do it, I always see McDonald’s rubbish.”

Another farmer expressed frustration, adding: “Regularly dumped on the verge below my farm, too. We had a regular user of a footpath who would get to the same point and discard the coffee cup bought from the local vending machine. We need a better way.”

But not everyone is in agreement, however, as one person commented: “Sympathetic to the problem, but I suspect data protection laws would be a significant obstacle as would proving the offence. It’s not quite as simple as you describe.”

Whilst others lauded McDonald’s litter-picking efforts, with one X user applauding: “Our local McDonald’s employs a man to go round and clean up the streets. I’ve seen him multiple streets away from the restaurant before.”

And another person shared: “Ours do it too. I picked up a McD cup from the corner outside my house over the weekend. It’s almost exactly half a mile from the nearest outlet.”

Keep Britain Tidy advises that authorised officers have the power to issue a fixed penalty charge of up to £150 for a litter offence, as an alternative to prosecution. If the offender is prosecuted and convicted in court, the fine could rise to £2,500.

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