McDonald’s must stop using disposable cups or face a fine

Following the complaint, the ILT inspected dozens of McDonald’s restaurants. It found that, since August 2024, the chain had routinely been providing disposable cups to customers consuming their orders inside its restaurants, despite this being prohibited by law. The legislation is intended to reduce single-use plastic packaging and encourage reuse.
The ILT is now requiring McDonald’s to use only reusable cups, containers and other tableware for on-site consumption from 5 January 2027 onwards. If the company fails to comply, the penalty will increase by €625,000 per week until the maximum of €3.75 million is reached.
Notably, this amount is based on the total surcharge customers paid for disposable cups that McDonald’s should not have been providing in the first place.

For years, McDonald’s has been lobbying intensively around the world against mandatory reuse, including through sponsored content in major media outlets and the report No Silver Bullet. The report questions the environmental benefits of reusable packaging and is based on assumptions that cannot be independently verified.
According to Fair Resource Foundation, this lobbying contributed to the weakening of European rules aimed at reducing single-use packaging. Competitors are already demonstrating that reuse is both practically and economically feasible. Burger King has switched to reusable tableware at dozens of locations in the Netherlands. In France, McDonald’s itself has been serving customers with reusable cups, fries containers and cutlery since 2023.

Chloé Schwizgebel of Fair Resource Foundation calls McDonald’s “a symbol of the throwaway economy” and hopes the decision will mark a turning point. As the market leader, serving more than 3 million customers a week, McDonald’s has considerable influence on the rest of the sector. According to the organisation, if the chain switches to reuse, it could help accelerate the transition across the entire market.

At the same time, Fair Resource Foundation adds an important caveat: this measure should have been taken two years ago, was only secured after a formal enforcement request, and still needs to be implemented in practice.

This case shows that enforcement works, but also that change can take years and may require a formal request before one of the world’s largest users of packaging complies with existing rules. As long as single-use plastic remains cheaper than reuse, companies will continue to push the boundaries.
Effective enforcement and firm deadlines, such as the one now imposed on McDonald’s, are therefore essential to accelerate the transition to reuse across the sector.
Plastic Soup Foundation will continue to follow this case closely. First, to see whether McDonald’s has actually made the switch by 5 January 2027. Second, to see whether other chains that still use disposable cups will follow suit without requiring a formal enforcement request first.