McDonald’s to test reusable cups in UK market

McDonald's Corp., Chicago, announced Sept. 9 that it is participating in 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, is designed to help cut down on packaging waste.

This partnership will 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," McDonald's Corp. Vice President of Global Sustainability Jenny McColloch says. "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, the company says. Loop's cleaning systems have been developed in partnership with Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Ecolab to sanitize each item, which means each cup is cleaned before each use to make it as safe and hygienic as a single-use cup.  

"This groundbreaking partnership with McDonald's enables Loop to greatly expand its reach by bringing convenient reusable packaging options to the food service industry," TerraCycle and Loop CEO Tom Szaky says. "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 its use of 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 U.S.  

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 an initiative run by St. Petersburg, Florida-based Valpak that incentivizes more waste companies to collect paper cups for recycling.