Officials in Wales have proposed plans to have customers' license plates printed onto McDonald's wrappers to clamp down on littering.
Litter is a problem that plagues many communities, and in Wales where the proposal has been made, packaging litter was found on 64.2% of streets across the country according to an independent report published by Keep Wales Tidy.
The initiative would involve cameras being installed in drive-thru's of the popular fast-food chain McDonald's and then the license plates printed onto customers' wrappers in order to track down those who dispose of their garbage irresponsibly, as reported by The Sun.
During a climate change corporate delivery committee meeting, Chris Howell from Swansea Council indicated that the Welsh Government has reached out to McDonald's to see whether printing customers' license plate numbers is doable. He noted that he believes it to be a good idea but added it is currently "fraught with some difficulties".
The Sun continued that the idea was first proposed two years ago by the political party Plaid Cymru after high levels of litter were found in Welsh parks during the lockdown in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There has been some pushback against the idea as Mr. Howell reportedly said that he believed people would be more inclined to visit rival chains like Burger King if McDonald's was to print "private details" of its customers on any packaging.
The proposal met a mixed response on Facebook with one person saying: "Good idea but what about those who do put it in the bin and then it’s ripped out by seagulls," and another added: "Interesting one for data protection."
A third person added: "What a waste of time. How could you prove the item was discarded by the car owner? What if someone fetched it out of the bin and threw it on the ground? It won’t stand up in court."
A fourth concluded: "Brilliant idea the number of McDonald’s packages etc I pick up in the road behind our garden wall where people stop to eat their McDonald’s then throw the rubbish in the road GOOD idea."
A spokesperson for McDonald's has said that the company is open to the suggestion, but adds that the fast food giant is currently unable to process its customers' data in the manner suggested. Per WalesOnline, McDonald's officials are also concerned that number plates would not be sufficient enough evidence in order to prosecute against local litter laws.
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