Burger King is testing new green packaging in 51-unit Miami-area pilot program, the company said Monday.
The division of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International Inc. is launching the program with eight of its most-used guest-facing items: forks, spoons, knives, straws, drink lids, fry pods, Whopper wrappers and napkins.
“By piloting solutions in restaurants, the brand is able to get direct feedback from guests on how the packages perform, make iterative changes with its supplier and build an implementation road map for the system,” a spokesperson said.
Among the packaging to be tested at company-owned restaurants the alternatives include fry pods made with renewable unbleached virgin paperboard, cutlery made with cPLA (a plant-based plastic) and napkins made with 100% recycled fiber.
“Upon completion of the pilot test, BK will take the learnings and guest feedback to inform plans for nationwide sustainable packaging in the next year,” the spokesperson said.
The brand is also continuing to develop its global partnership with Loop to reduce single-use packaging through reusables. That program was announced last October.
Burger King is looking to include two new cities, Paris and London, in addition to the earlier announced target cities of New York, Tokyo and Portland, Ore.
Burger King is also partnering with The Coca-Cola Co. and Kraft Heinz to bring sustainability initiatives to life.
“Leveraging their combined size and resources, the brands will work together to provide insights, packaging expertise and resources on these pilots, helping to maximize future national potential,” a spokesperson said.
As of March 31, Burger King had 18,691 restaurants worldwide.
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