McDonald’s moving to sustainable packaging
McDonald’s has announced goals to improve its packaging and help significantly reduce waste to positively impact the communities the company serves around the world.
McDonald’s has announced goals to improve its packaging and help significantly reduce waste to positively impact the communities the company serves around the world. By 2025, 100% of McDonald’s guest packaging will come from renewable, recycled, or certified sources with a preference for Forest Stewardship Council certification. Also by 2025, the company has set a goal to recycle guest packaging in 100% of McDonald’s restaurants. The fast-food giant understands that recycling infrastructure, regulations, and consumer behaviors vary city to city and country to country around the world, but it plans to be part of the solution and help influence change.
This expands upon McDonald’s existing goal that by 2020, 100% of fiber-based packaging will come from recycled or certified sources where no deforestation occurs. Currently, 50% of McDonald’s customer packaging comes from renewable, recycled, or certified sources and 64% of fiber-based packaging comes from certified or recycled sources. Also, an estimated 10% of McDonald’s restaurants globally are recycling customer packaging.
“As the world’s largest restaurant company, we have a responsibility to use our scale for good to make changes that will have a meaningful impact across the globe,” said Francesca DeBiase, McDonald’s chief supply chain and sustainability officer. “Our customers have told us that packaging waste is the top environmental issue they would like us to address. Our ambition is to make changes our customers want and to use less packaging, sourced responsibly, and designed to be taken care of after use, working at and beyond our restaurants to increase recycling and help create cleaner communities.”
To reach these goals, McDonald’s will work with leading industry experts, local governments, and environmental associations, to improve packaging and recycling practices. Together they will work to drive smarter packaging designs, implement new recycling programs, establish new measurement programs, and educate restaurant crew and customers.