Burger King tests alternatives for cutlery, straws, drink lids, frypods®, whopper® wrappers and napkins and expands loop reusables test in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and Kraft Heinz.
May 4, 2021
Burger King® is committed to being part of a more sustainable future by reducing its environmental footprint. That’s why today, it is continuing its journey by launching a green packaging pilot program focused on finding scalable solutions for eight of its most-used, guest-facing items including forks, spoons, knives, straws, drink lids, Frypods®, Whopper® wrappers and napkins.
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The guest packaging will be tested in 51 of Burger King’s company-owned restaurants in Miami and utilizes alternative materials, such as Frypods® made with renewable unbleached virgin paperboard; cutlery made with cPLA, a plant-based plastic; and napkins made with 100 percent recycled fiber. Burger King will also be testing paper and plant-based straws along with strawless lids, which could potentially eliminate up to 500 million single-use plastic straws annually from participating U.S. Burger King® restaurants. This action alone would translate to the removal of 910 metric tons of greenhouse gasses per year, the equivalent of 196 vehicles driven for one year. We’re also testing two new options for Whopper® sandwich wraps, which represent a 13 percent and 34 percent reduction in paper compared to previous wraps, respectively. This could translate to an additional 500 to 1,500 metric tons of paper waste eliminated annually across the U.S.
By piloting solutions in restaurants, the fast food giant can get direct feedback from guests on how the packages perform, make iterative changes with its supplier, and build an implementation roadmap for the system. Upon completion of the pilot test, Burger King will take the learnings and guest feedback to inform its plans for nationwide sustainable packaging in the next year. This pilot gives us the opportunity to gain knowledge and provide learnings for the industry while getting us one step closer towards its goal of advancing packaging sustainability by improving materials and reducing overall packaging used, including single-use plastics.
The green packaging pilot is another action Burger King® is taking to align with its principle of doing what’s right. In that spirit, the fast food giant is continuing to develop its global partnership with Loop to reduce single-use packaging through reusables and are looking to include two new cities, Paris and London, in addition to the earlier announced target cities of New York, Portland, and Tokyo. Burger King’s reusable pilot will offer more guests the option to join in its efforts to reduce waste when ordering their Burger King® favorites like the Whopper® sandwich, soft drink, or coffee.
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Understanding that sustainability requires partnership throughout the supply chain, Burger King is partnering with The Coca-Cola Company and Kraft Heinz to bring these initiatives to life. Leveraging its combined size and resources, Burger King will work together to provide insights, packaging expertise, and resources on these pilots, helping to maximize future national potential.
