CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today
McDonald's Corporation has announced a global partnership
with TerraCycle's circular packaging service, Loop, to
test a new reusable cup model for
hot beverages. The initiative, which will first
be trialed in 2021 across select McDonald's
restaurants in the UK, helps customers enjoy their favorite
McDonald's hot drink in a reusable cup, while cutting down on
packaging waste. The model marks significant
progress toward innovative circular packaging
solutions that help protect the planet for communities today,
and in the future.
This unique new partnership will conveniently
allow customers to reduce waste by choosing a
durable Loop-created cup, for a small deposit.
The deposit can then be redeemed by returning
the
cup to participating McDonald's UK restaurants in
order to be safely washed through the Loop
system and reused again in McDonald's
restaurants.
"We're on a journey to rethink how we package products to give
customers options that reduce waste, maintain the highest safety
standards, and enhance the McDonald's experience they expect and
enjoy. That's an innovation challenge, and it's one we think the
Loop model has potential to help us solve," said Jenny McColloch, Vice President, Global
Sustainability, McDonald's Corporation. "Our commitment to
communities is one of our core values as a company, and this pilot
will generate important local insights and lessons to share along
the way. We're excited to assess how new reusable packaging models
could work within our system as we accelerate circular packaging
solutions with our partners around the globe."
Additionally,
the Loop partnership meets McDonald's cleanliness
and safety standards, which have only become more important
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Loop's
cleaning systems have been scientifically developed, in
partnership with Ecolab, to sanitize each item, which means
each cup is hygienically cleaned before each use, making it
as safe and hygienic as single-use
cups.
"This groundbreaking partnership with McDonald's enables Loop to
greatly expand its reach by bringing convenient reusable packaging
options to the food service industry,"
said TerraCycle and Loop CEO, Tom
Szaky. "The partnership paves the way for reusables to
become an accessible option for consumers as they enjoy their meal
on the go."
The Loop initiative aligns with
McDonald's continued investments to test and
scale circular solutions for cups around the
world including the "Recup" system in Germany, and
exploration into fully recoverable hot and cold fiber cups and
reusable cup systems through a partnership with the NextGen Cup
Challenge in the United States.
This work also builds on progress McDonald's has
already made to recycle paper cups in multiple
markets. Almost all of McDonald's restaurants across the UK
now have recycling units for hot and cold paper cups.
The paper cups are sent to specialist recycling
centers where the plastic lining is removed from the fiber,
which is then recycled into new products. As a member of the
UK Paper Cup Coalition, McDonald's has invested in a scheme run by
Valpak that incentivizes more waste companies to collect paper cups
for recycling.
"If we're going to curb the plastic waste crisis we need to
invest in data driven strategies that reduce our demand for virgin
plastic," said Erin Simon, Head,
Plastic and Business at World Wildlife Fund. "For McDonald's and
the larger food and beverage sector, reuse will be one component of
any reduction strategy. As a society we need to ensure the plastics
we use today are the plastics we'll be able to use again in the
future."
As the world's largest restaurant company, McDonald's has the
responsibility and opportunity to take action on some of
the most pressing social and environmental challenges in the
world. McDonald's remains committed to its journey to rethink
how products are packaged and to give customers the sustainable
solutions they want. These circular packaging models have
the potential to be transformative for customers and
communities, and ultimately can have a significant impact on
the planet.
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SOURCE McDonald's Corporation