McDonald will try plastic cups made from recycled and bio-based materials.

McDonald’s will work with its partners INEOS, LyondellBasell, as well as polymer renewable feedstock solutions provider Neste, and North American food and beverage packaging provider Pactiv Evergreen, to use a mass-balanced approach to produce the Recycled solutions, trial production of clear plastic cups from post-consumer plastic and bio-based materials such as used cooking oil.

According to McDonald’s, the clear plastic cup is a 50:50 blend of post-consumer plastic material and bio-based material. The company defines bio-based materials as materials derived from biomass, such as plants, and used cooking oils will be included in this section.

McDonald’s said the materials will be combined to produce the cups through a mass balance method, which will allow it to measure and track inputs of recycled and bio-based materials used in the process, while also including traditional fossil fuel sources.

The new cups will be available at 28 select McDonald’s restaurants in Georgia, USA. For local consumers, McDonald’s recommends that the cups can be rinsed and placed in any recycling bin. However, the lids and straws that come with new cups are currently non-recyclable. Recycled cups, creating more post-consumer materials for other items.

McDonald’s added that the new clear cups are nearly identical to the company’s existing cups. Consumers are unlikely to notice any difference between the previous and new McDonald’s cups.

McDonald’s intends to demonstrate through trials that, as one of the world’s largest restaurant companies, McDonald’s is willing to invest in and support the production of bio-based and recyclable materials. Additionally, the company is reportedly working to improve the possibilities of the material used in the cup on a wider scale.

Mike Nagle, CEO of INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA, commented: “We believe the future of packaging materials needs to be as circular as possible. Together with our customers, we help them deliver on their commitment in this area to bring plastic waste back to virgin plastic. is the ultimate definition of recycling and will create a true circular approach.”