Pictured: Marc Copeland, Joanne Lennox, Darren Houston and players from Carniny Amateur Youth FC, alongside Paddy Cusack, Franchisee of McDonald’s Ballymena.
Players from Carniny Amateur and Youth FC recently joined with the McDonald’s Ballymena restaurant for a litter clean-up at the Ecos Nature Park.
The event formed part of a McDonald’s campaign aimed at tackling litter in parks, on paths and along roadsides in towns and cities acrossNorthern Ireland.
The ‘30 Parks in 30 Days’ campaign saw McDonald’s employees undertake more than 30 local litter clean-ups in parks and nature areas throughout the 30 days of June. Led by the eight local franchisees across McDonald’s estate of 34 restaurants in Northern Ireland, they were supported by a range of local community groups, elected representatives and football clubs – including CarninyAmateur and Youth FC.
Paddy Cusack, Franchisee of the McDonald’s Ballymena restaurant, commented:
“Our annual ‘30 Parks in 30 Days’ campaign reinforces McDonald’s strong commitment to tackling litter issues right across the UK and Ireland.
“Like our customers and stakeholders, we are always deeply disappointed to see people acting irresponsibly when it comes to littering. We want to play a leading role in sparking a change in behaviour towards what can only be described as a scourge on our environment.
“Across the UK and Ireland, our employees walk over 5,000 miles every week picking up all waste – our packaging and that of other retailers – by the sides of roads, in parks and on paths. This is further enhanced through proactive partnerships with local community groups, such as CarninyAmateur and Youth FC, to keep our area clean and litter free by carrying out regular litter picks.”
Stephen Armstrong, from Carniny Amateur and Youth FC, welcomed the opportunity to partner with McDonald’s to tackle litter in Ballymena. He said:
“We were delighted to be a part of the McDonald’s community litter pick up. We now hope to see more young players involved, passing on the message during training and match days that everyone should be encouraged to be picking up litter when they see it.”