Opportunity McDonald’s Europe is working to meet its goal to
reduce the environmental impact of its packaging.
Solution In 2012, Seda, a McDonald’s packaging supplier in Europe,
started a project for McDonald’s Netherlands to introduce a newgeneration
double-wall hot cup that is lighter and has an outer
sleeve made from recycled fibers, while maintaining the premium
appearance and performance of the existing cup.
Results The production of the double-wall hot cup with a
lightweight inner and recycled outer shell started toward the end of
2012. The new cup specification maintained the thermal insulation
of the cup, while:
• Reducing weight
• Reducing non-renewable content of the cup
• Introducing recycled fibers
As an example, for the 0.3-liter double-wall cup:
• The total cup weight has been reduced by approximately 6
percent versus the previous version
• The non-renewable material content has been reduced by
more than 20 percent versus the previous product
• More than 40 percent of the total fiber content is derived
from recycled fibers, of which more than 30 percent is
derived from post-consumer material