EUROPE – Fast-food companies, led by McDonald’s, are pushing back against European Union proposals to require all restaurants to use reusable materials for serving dine-in customers, warning that early experiences with reuse aren’t promising.
McDonald’s said that after years of efforts to reduce the use of environmentally harmful plastics in its restaurants through recycling and the use of recyclable packaging, the EU plan would be a step backward.
“We’ve basically eliminated plastic from our restaurants,” Jon Banner, the global chief impact officer for McDonald’s, said in a recent interview.
“Now, as a result of reuse, we’re going to have to end up reintroducing plastic to our restaurants with the goal of having it be reused and reused and reused.”
McDonald’s Corp. has experimented with offering reusable cups in several European countries and says that many of them simply disappear.
That’s the case in Germany, where customers who select reusable materials pay a €2 (US$2.10) deposit, but only 40% of cups return to restaurants.
The initial results in the Netherlands are even more discouraging, with only 25% returning despite a €1 deposit.
Currently, nearly all – 94% – of the company’s packaging in Europe is made from fiber, primarily derived from wood fibers. Plastic is still used in liners for hot and cold cups, but McDonald’s is also developing a cup that is free of plastic, according to Banner.
Last year, the EU’s executive arm proposed sweeping rules that would mandate widespread use of reusable materials, even for takeaway food.
This spring, although the targets for takeaway packaging were removed in the parliament’s latest version, the proposal would still include requirements for food consumed inside quick-service restaurants.
The European Parliament’s environment committee is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Oct. 24. Once the full parliament approves, it becomes the parliament’s official negotiating position.
EU member states are still developing their own position, which means a final law is likely several months away at the earliest.
“Recycling is not a silver bullet to fixing our waste problem,” said Tatiana Luján, the material systems lead for ClientEarth, an environmental law non-profit.
“The benefits of reusing materials are that they help to close the waste loop, producing and using less material over time.
“The commission’s proposal is giving the industry 17 years to prepare to sell 40% of takeaway food in reusable containers, which allows ample time for business to adjust.”
McDonald’s research suggests that cups need to be reused 50 to 100 times in order to be more environmentally preferable to single-use products. “We’re not getting anywhere near that in the real-life experience,” Banner said.
In recent years, the restaurant industry has made significant investments in recyclable and biodegradable packaging. However, some companies are not pleased with the need to change their approach.
“They have built in some parts of Europe very aggressive recycling schemes that have worked, and they’ve educated schoolchildren,” Banner said. “It has sort of become a way of life.”
Moving toward reusables would also force significant expenditure on refitting restaurants with more dishwashing facilities, which would increase the amount of water. The additional electricity usage could pose a challenge for McDonald’s in achieving net zero emissions by 2050, Banner concluded.
