McDonald's must stop using disposable cups in restaurants, following action by FRF
By January 2027, McDonald’s must stop using disposable plastic cups for anyone dining in. FRF discovered that McDonald's was not complying with the rules and sent the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) to investigate. The inspectorate has established that McDonald’s has been breaking the rules for years and has unfairly charged customers extra for disposable cups.
The symbol of throwaway culture brought to its knees
McDonald's has been fighting for its throwaway 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 single-use packaging. This makes the inspectorate's decision an extra painful 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. Practice at Burger King Netherlands and McDonald's France shows that reuse yields both environmental benefits and is commercially viable.
Chloe Schwizgebel of FRF:
It is fantastic news that McDonald’s Netherlands promises to finally only have a reuse system for on-site consumption; as a market leader with over 3 million customers per week, who has a major influence on the rest of the market, its environmental impact reaches further than that of its own business. When they finally make the transition, it will give a boost to the reuse sector. And this is what we have been fighting for.
