French branches of McDonald’s and Burger King are robbed of their reusable crockery. The red chips containers with an engraved M or pink lemonade cups with the competitor’s logo are true collector’s items, local media report. They do not end up in the dishwashers of the fast food chains, but in the bags of customers.
Fast food chains in France that can accommodate 20 people or more must offer reusable tableware to customers who eat their meal on site from 1 January this year. Disposable packaging such as paper cups or cardboard chip trays have since been banned. Instead, the fries or salad come in plastic or glass containers that can be collected and washed again. The country wants to drastically reduce the amount of waste in the sector.
And so, for example, McDonald’s and Burger King offer their meals in reusable tableware with their logos. Red chips boxes with an engraved M, a pink lemonade cup with the Burger King logo. Several French media now report that the service is being collected by customers. “It’s a collector’s item,” says a 23-year-old student against Le Parisien. “I had seen pictures of the dishes on social media. I want to use them as small decorative elements.”
World first
According to BFMTV in Paris, establishments frequented by young people or located in touristic areas of the city would be particularly affected by the phenomenon. Since the French regulations are a world first, foreign tourists would be surprised to see the reusable tableware.
,,We see losses”, explains Benjamin Peri of Pyxo Le Parisien. The company supplies tableware to McDonald’s. However, Pyxo does not see any major differences with other restaurants that are introducing something new. When the novelty wears off, Pyxo expects the reusable crockery to be taken along less. Burger King also experienced this when it experimented with the new chip trays in certain French branches last year.
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McDonald’s France also does not want to put figures on the losses. The French branch of the company – with a turnover of 5.5 billion euros in 2021 – has invested around 100 million euros in reusable crockery and special dishwashers, according to local media. “It is still too early to estimate this exactly,” the company says. McDonald’s has drawn up a communication plan to explain the change to its customers and staff and hopes to gradually eliminate thefts.
Built-in chips
It did not prevent a French McDonald’s establishment in the eastern department of Territoire de Belfort from warning its customers with a poster on a door at the end of December. “Our crockery is equipped with geolocation chips. It is not possible to leave with it. You will have to explain it at the ’17”, the establishment refers to the telephone number for the French police.
But Benjamin Peri from Pyxo tells Le Parisien that the barcodes on the trays are only intended for Pyxo to keep an eye on the stock of crockery and replenish it where necessary.
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