This campaign has many facets. It’s not just the regular protesters on site, nor the large social media team. This campaign has generated countless sub-groups such as fund-raising, community outreach, lobbying etc. One group who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes is our environmental group who have utilised google map technology to plot the smells and rubbish hot-spots that the unwanted store has created. Below you will find a link to the latest updated map.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/edit?mid=zKzsCEA0Noc0.kGYJDrUER_5Q

We guess one of the biggest shocks the map reveals is just how much rubbish the store generates. It is particularly worse when you consider that the store is operating well below its expected targets (McDonald’s told ABC 7:30 Report 2000 a day was the target). This means if the store was to achieve its targets we would be looking at a much larger litter problem.

Please find below some referencing comments put together by the environmental team:

Photos show that while there is other litter in the area, McDonald’s branded litter is the most prevalent.

Position of bins outside of the town center may improve the rubbish situation, however one of the biggest hot spots for rubbish is the train station where there is easy access to bins.

What people don’t realise is that the rubbish dropped by our roadsides rubbish is going is down storm water drains, which flow directly into the creeks and waterways that support platypus populations. Unlike other areas where stormwater in often managed by ecologically barren concrete lined drains, the waterways of the Dandenongs support an abundance of native aquatic life.

Regulation of the fast food industry could be compared with the regulation of the landfilling industry in Australia.
When landfilling was cheap and inexpensive people made a lot of money dumping anything they wanted.
Once it became more expensive through regulations surrounding dumping, recycling became common place in most councils and people learnt to reuse, recycle and treat waste products rather than dump them.
Currently it is inexpensive for fast food companies to use excessive, un-biodegradable packaging as the actual cost of disposal is not factored into their business. Sure there is some instore purchases which end up in the bins onsite, but with 70% of business at Tecoma proposed to be take-away or drive through, the cost of waste disposal lands on tax payers shoulders through council bins and cleaning up the surrounding area.

Similar to the responsibilities that industrial facilities have when generating waste, there should be more regulation on packaging and control of the distribution mechanism which is via vehicles and pedestrian traffic. If you see someone littering from a vehicle, report this to the EPA:
http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/get-involved/report-litter

This is the same with odour, preliminary findings from the odour survey indicate that they are currently in breach of EPA legislation for “Offensive Odour”
You can find out more here if you wish to report this directly to the Authority:
http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/air/docs/Odour-factsheet.pdf