Wendy’s, Berry Global and LyondellBasell introduce recyclable clear drink cup

Wendy’s has announced a partnership with packaging company Berry Global of Evansville, Indiana, and plastics, chemicals and refining company LyondellBasell of Houston to launch a single-substrate, clear plastic drink cup that consumers can recycle.

The cups will launch in U.S. and Canadian restaurants in early 2022, with the initial set of large cups using recycled plastic. All drink cups in U.S. and Canada will use recycled plastic in 2023. 

Wendy’s says this is estimated to divert 10 million pounds of waste from landfills over the first two years. The company says that estimate is projected to increase as Wendy's works with Berry to expand recycled plastic use throughout its entire cup set. 

According to a joint news release, the cups will use 20 percent ICSS-Plus certified chemically recycled polypropylene across all North American restaurants. The amount of recycled plastic used in the future could increase. 

"Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of single-use plastics, and we want to do our part as a leader in the quick-service restaurant industry to provide more sustainable options," says Liliana Esposito, Wendy's chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer. "Today's announcement marks Wendy's next step toward creating packaging solutions that reduce our environmental impact."

In 2019, Wendy’s became a supporting partner of the NextGen Consortium, an industrywide collaboration formed by New York City-based Closed Loop Partners, to accelerate and scale commercially viable, circular foodservice packaging solutions.