I am happy to inform Mark Davidson who raised the question in these columns on July 26 (regarding the McDonald's restaurant in Silvermine Bay), that McDonald's Hong Kong provides the same high standards of food packaging for our customers here that are offered to McDonald's customers in the US. Following the example of our US parent, in 1991 we switched to paper wraps for all of our sandwiches except the Big Mac, reducing bulk waste by 80 per cent. The limited foam we use, for example for hot drinks, complies with the most stringent US standards of quality that require no ozone-harming CFCs at all - a distinction that sets us apart from general Hong Kong practice. We also share Mr Davidson's concern about working with the community to curb the littering problem. Our operations management oversees a 'litter patrol' by our employees in the four-block radius of the restaurant. They have also asked the Regional Services Department to permit us to place rubbish bins in the beach area to encourage proper disposal of litter. We will continue to pursue ways of assisting the community with this matter. MARY W. LEVENTHAL Director, Communications McDonald's Restaurants (HK) Ltd
