Gleaned this story from the social media ‘food newswires’… McDonald’s is testing new, reusable serving containers for orders to be consumed in-store. I have some questions about what they’re made of, how they McClean them between deployments, and customer response…
Reddit user classicestatep spotted the poster pictured above in Cupertino California recently. It indicates a very limited test is underway of a big new concept from the Burger Behemoth: reusable containers for certain ‘for here’ menu items.
Mixed reviews
It appears that’s the answer McD’s has chosen to reduce the billions and bil-lions of pieces of single use packaging waste generates each year. But some McFans – and food writers – don’t think much of the idea.
The writer…
TheCoolDown.com contributor Grace Howarth lauds the effort: “McDonald’s serves around 63 million customers each day,” Howarth notes. “If the new scheme prevents a significant portion of customers from throwing out three pieces of trash, the impact would be significant.”
But she quickly adds that she feels it’s far from the best solution to the mega-garbage problem: “While the reusable packaging is a step in the right direction, it is not the perfect answer. Rather than manu-facturing millions of molded plastic containers, simply offering food on a plate that is cleaned for reuse would be the least wasteful option.”
The Redditors…
Commentors to classicestatep’s post, in the r/ZeroWaste substream, also voiced predominantly doubtful opinions of the ‘reusables’ scheme:
One simply stated the obvious: “They could just use, like, plates.”
Another, with an insider’s viewpoint, opined as McD’s may have a secret plan: “I bet they send these out for washing,”
User ‘geraffes-are-so-dumb’ said. “Admittedly, it’s been years since I worked at a McDs, but in the standard-plan store I worked at there was no room for additional dishwashers or storage. All those paper products take up very little storage room [by comparison].”
A third observed: “Wouldn’t that increase the case for them using plates? They pack down flatter and would be easier to both ship/transport, and you could definitely stack more in a commercial dish washer.”
Some obvious issues…
Yes, the containers shown on the Cupertino poster are bulky and probably hard to stack in a com-mercial dishwasher. I’ve worked dish duty in a big, busy resto. I wouldn’t want to be the one tasked with figuring out how to fit them in while keeping the cleaning process timely, and using minimum soap and water. But maybe that’s the price McD’s pays for making a louder, stronger public stand against disposable packaging.
It may, in fact, be worth McD’s time – and money – to provide containers that remind fans of the old, paper Nugget, Burger and Fries packages.
My take
More to the point… What are the new containers made from – that they can stand up repeated de-ploying and bussing and cleaning and sterilizing? Years ago, restos would have opted for Melamine plastic. But that stuff has been shown to cause cancer – just like Teflon. What is the industry using, now, instead?
Redditors also echoed one of my questions, commenting they were suspicious of the reusable containers, wondering if they actually come completely clean in the rotational process.
And… Decidedly cynical Redditor ‘Skweril’ observed (probably correctly): “People are [still] definitely going to throw these in the garbage…”
Finally… I would also like to highlight an uncharacteristically incisive side comment…
Forward-looking France!
One worldly Redditor observed: “They have this in France […] for legal reasons!”
Since January 1, 2023, the French Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law (AGEC) mandates that all restaurants, including fast-food chains with more than 20 seats, use reusable, washable tableware – plates, cups, dishes, and cutlery – for on-site dining.
In closing… Bravo! to McD’s for launching (prototype) reusable food containers. But Bigger Bravo! to France, for demanding it!
~ Maggie J.