McDonald's Pushes Back at E.U. Reusable Packaging Mandate

Fast-food companies, led by McDonald’s, are balking at E.U. reusable packaging requirements, claiming it is setting their sustainability efforts back, according to Bloomberg News.

McDonald’s has voiced its reservations about the E.U.’s proposal. The fast-food giant asserts that reusable packaging runs counter to its long-standing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of plastic in its restaurants.

Almost all — 94% — of the company’s packaging in Europe is fiber-based, mostly from wood fibers. The liners for hot and cold cups contain plastic, but McDonald’s is developing a plastic-free cup.

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Reusable Packaging Counterproductive?

In a recent interview, Jon Banner, McDonald's global chief impact officer, stated that they had effectively removed plastic from their establishments. If they were to comply with E.U. mandates, McDonald's adding reusable packaging would reintroduce plastic into their restaurants. This would comply with the overarching aim of ensuring repeated and sustainable reuse.

“We’ve basically eliminated plastic from our restaurants,” Banner said. “Now, as a result of reuse, we’re going to have to end up reintroducing plastic to our restaurants.”

McDonald’s research suggests cups need 50 to 100 reuses to make them preferable environmentally to single-use products. “We’re not getting anywhere near that in the real-life experience,” Banner said.

The world’s largest fast food chain has experimented with offering reusable cups in several European countries, according to Bloomberg. It already serves fries, Happy Meals, and drinks in returnable containers for meals served in France. In German restaurants, customers can request reusable packaging for drinks and ice cream. The result, according to Banner, is that many of them disappear. That’s the case in Germany, where customers who select reusable materials pay a €2 ($2.10) deposit, but only 40% of cups return to restaurants.