McDonald’s must stop using disposable cups in restaurants after complaint by Fair Resource Foundation

McDonald’s is a symbol of the throwaway economy. Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of it. Disposable packaging pollutes our streets, beaches and seas, and is a huge waste of energy and resources.

What is going on?

Inspectors from the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) investigated the complaint by Fair Resource Foundation in recent months. The environmental organisation discovered that the fast-food chain was wrongly issuing disposable cups, and was also charging its customers extra money for them. As a result, during dozens of visits to McDonald’s restaurants, the inspectorate found multiple violations. Since August 2024, the company had been issuing disposable cups for on-site consumption, which is prohibited. The legislation is intended to reduce the impact of plastic-containing disposable packaging and to accelerate the transition to reuse.

The ILT is requiring McDonald’s to provide only reusable packaging to its customers from 5 January 2027. If the company fails to comply, it will face a weekly fine of 625,000 euros, up to a maximum amount of 3,750,000 euros. This amount is calculated based on the profit the fast-food chain made from selling disposable cups – with an additional surcharge – to consumers.

A promised change that was long overdue

McDonald’s has been fighting for its disposable culture worldwide for years. With an unprecedented lobbying offensive, sponsored content in major media, and the controversial "No Silver Bullet" report – which questions the impact of reuse based on unverifiable assumptions – McDonald’s managed to weaken European legislation against disposable packaging. This makes this order subject to a penalty from the inspectorate an extra sensitive defeat for McDonald’s.

In the Netherlands, competitor Burger King has already made the switch in dozens of branches. Even McDonald’s France has been serving its customers exclusively with reusable tableware (cups, chip boxes and even cutlery) since 2023. The practice at Burger King Netherlands and McDonald’s France shows that reuse yields both environmental benefits and is economically viable.

It is fantastic news that McDonald’s Netherlands promises to finally only have a reuse system for on-site consumption; as the market leader with over 3 million customers a week, which has a major influence on the rest of the market, its impact on the environment reaches further than that of its own business. When they finally switch, it will give a boost to the reuse sector. And this is what we have been fighting for. But let’s not forget that this should have happened more than two years ago, that action from us was required, and that we still have to see it in practice.