Canadian Packaging

McDonald’s Canada announces country’s first “Green Concept Restaurant” as part of its sustainability journey

Canadian Packaging   

Sustainability Plastic How 2 Recycle (H2R) McDonalds Canada

New packaging tests will include Canadian QSR firsts – fully re-pulpable cups and fibre lids

McDonald’s Canada is on a journey to make its packaging more sustainable as part of its goal to reduce its environmental footprint and source 100 per cent of guest packaging from renewable and/or recycled materials.

To help get there, McDonald’s will unveil two “Green Concept Restaurants” in London, Ontario and Vancouver, BC. These restaurants will act as incubator locations to test new packaging options and recycling initiatives.

The Green Concept Restaurants will continue using much of the current McDonald’s packaging but will also test items with the potential to be rolled out more widely in the future. The first innovations will begin testing in the coming months and include:

  • A fully re-pulpable cup for cold beverages – a Canadian QSR first
    • The cup uses an aqueous coating that is acceptable in recycling streams
    • A medium size cup will be tested
  • New fibre lids – a Canadian QSR first
    • Product is made from 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood fibre and is recyclable
    • The lid will also help reduce straw use, as guests can sip from it directly
    • Lids will be tested on all three cold cup sizes
  • Wooden cutlery
  • Wooden stir sticks
  • Paper straws

Canadians are looking for brands to take a leadership role in making positive change in the industry. Globally, McDonald’s has been on a journey to offer guests more sustainable packaging and reduce waste overall. These immediate enhancements, along with changes made over recent years, will remove more than 1,500 tons of packaging materials from the McDonald’s Canada system by:

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  • Napkins: Introducing a smaller napkin (20 per cent smaller) produced with 100% recycled fibre in all restaurants, which eliminates more than 900 tons of paper.
  • McWrap® carton: Transitioning from a McWrap carton to a McWrap wrap will eliminate more than 400 tons of packaging.
  • Foam: Eliminated foam from the gravy bowl and breakfast platter, removing more than 130 tons of foam.
  • Small Coffee Cup: The lightweighting of the small hot cup – removing paper from the outer layer of the cup – eliminated more than 123 tons of paper.
  • Added a How 2 Recycle (H2R) label to Happy Meal® boxes, clear cups and carryout bags to help guests determine how packaging can be recycled.

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