Munich – 15 September 2026. McDonald's Germany and MBRC THE OCEAN have launched a partnership to tackle littering together. As official anti-littering partner, MBRC THE OCEAN contributes its expertise and advises McDonald's on strengthening the commitment of restaurants and teams – and awareness of the topic.
Local reach meets cleanup expertise
McDonald's brings its restaurant network and the experience of franchisees and employees on the ground. MBRC THE OCEAN supports the collaboration with insights from international anti-littering projects.
During joint local cleanups, the type and amount of collected waste is documented and then analysed by MBRC THE OCEAN. This reveals typical littering patterns and allows concrete recommendations for each location. The findings feed into information, training and activation formats for crews, restaurants and franchisees. External activations for guests are also planned over the course of the year.
"An environmental NGO and Germany's largest quick-service restaurant company – what looks like a contradiction at first glance is a logical step for us. Change doesn't happen in a niche, but where millions of people go every day."
– Sven Jacobi, founder of MBRC THE OCEAN
The Mobile CleanUp Unit
The most visible element of the partnership is the Mobile CleanUp Unit: a fully equipped vehicle for cleanup and awareness activities around McDonald's restaurants. After a pilot phase, franchisees will be able to use it for local activities. In addition, MBRC THE OCEAN has developed a guide that helps teams organise a cleanup without the vehicle.
The unit had its first major public outing in Cologne-Kalk: around the McDonald's restaurant on Istanbulstraße, McDonald's employees and many volunteers collected more than 20 kilograms of waste in about an hour. Further deployments at selected locations are planned.
A partnership with history
McDonald's Germany and MBRC THE OCEAN have worked on joint projects since 2023 – from a dialogue initiative and podcast to joint cleanups on World Cleanup Day 2025. More about the partnership: McDonald's Germany – anti-littering.