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MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Arcos Dorados Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ARCO) (“Arcos Dorados” or the “Company”), the largest independent McDonald’s franchise in the world, is expanding its environmental impact initiatives, announcing today an unprecedented partnership with the Israeli company UBQ, which has developed a patented process for converting unsorted household waste into a plastic substitute that reduces carbon emissions. The goal of the alliance is to begin using this new environmentally-friendly material in some restaurants’ items starting in the first quarter of 2020.
“As leaders in our sector, we have the responsibility of leveraging our large scale to contribute to caring for the environment and doing good for society. The partnership with UBQ is another step in our commitment to sustainability, as it allows us to replace materials within our operations with similar ones whose ultimate carbon emissions are zero,” said Gabriel Serber, Director of Social Commitment and Sustainable Development for Arcos Dorados.
“The partnership with Arcos Dorados has the potential to change mindsets around waste on our planet. Who would have thought that the materials used and discarded daily by society, and within a restaurant, could be upcycled into the durable products that surround us? Our innovative manufacturing process generates a zero or even a negative carbon emission balance, helping reduce global warming. Each ton of UBQ™ material produced is the equivalent of the carbon emission reduction of 540 trees,” added Albert Douer, Executive Chairman of UBQ.
The initiative is in addition to a series of sustainability actions already implemented by Arcos Dorados and McDonald’s. A year ago, the Company suspended the proactive serving of straws and launched a customer awareness campaign to avoid straw use during meals. At that time, the company promised to continue reducing the use of plastic in its restaurants.
Arcos Dorados remains committed to meeting the brand’s global goals under the “Scale for Good” initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36% by 2030, plus 20% throughout the supply chain within the same time period. In total, 11 million tons of CO2 will not reach the atmosphere, which is equivalent to planting 3 billion trees or taking 25 million cars off the road.
What is UBQ™?
To produce this new thermoplastic material, UBQ breaks down unsorted household waste into its most basic natural components (lignin, cellulose, sugar, fiber) and creates a new composite and environmentally-friendly material, through a process which does not use water or emit harmful fumes. As a raw material, UBQ can be made into thousands of applications including bricks, shopping carts, pipes, trash cans, and automotive parts. The material has been developed over the last five years by UBQ scientists.
About Arcos Dorados:
Arcos Dorados is the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in terms of sales throughout the system and of number of restaurants. The Company is the largest fast food service chain (QSR) in Latin America and the Caribbean, with exclusive rights to own, operate, and grant franchises for McDonald’s restaurants in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Company operates or franchises over 2,200 McDonald’s restaurants with more than 90,000 employees and is acknowledged as one of the best companies to work for in Latin America. Arcos Dorados is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ARCO). To learn more about the Company, please visit the Investors section of our website: www.arcosdorados.com/ir
About UBQ:
A certified B-Corp, Israel-based UBQ envisions a world where finite resources are infinitely reused. UBQ has transformed household waste into a renewable resource. Through its patented process, unsorted household waste becomes UBQ Material, a renewable, bio-based, thermoplastic material with ever-expanding applicability. Learn more about UBQ Material on its website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
