Reusable tableware: there is no count in fast foods

Disposable tableware in fast food restaurants is not ancient history. ” More than a half (visited restaurants), or 57%, continue to use only disposable utensils for outings,” complains the Zero Waste association, which sent activists from January 9 to 22 to check 286 fast food restaurants.

From January 1, fast food establishments with at least 20 lids must still use reusable utensils (cups, plates, containers, cutlery, etc.) for food and drinks served at the table, in accordance with the law on Waste Control and Circular Economy voted in 2020.

“The ban on disposable catering utensils continues to be little enforced by fast food brands,” Zero Waste lamented in a press release. Its activists visited these restaurants, including Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s and Quick, “in 48 cities and territories” in France.

Penalties incurred

So Zero Waste wrote to four brands on Tuesday “to warn them of the illegality of this practice and ask them to quickly end this disruption across all their establishments.” Two of them, KFC and Quick, are “poorly trained, with 100% of restaurants, 55 and 25 respectively, not enforcing the law” and teams that say they “didn’t get accurate information from headquarters about dates and events “. provided,” says Zero Waste.

As for Burger King, “restaurants visited mostly serve food on-site in disposable utensils, at 59%, or 57 restaurants.” At McDonald’s, “one in four restaurants visited, or 26 restaurants out of 110 visited, still serve food on-site in disposable utensils,” the association adds.

The fines imposed amount to “7,500 euros, 15,000 euros in case of repeated violation” for these offenses, said Alice Elfassi, legal manager for Zero Waste France, quoted in a press release as calling on the state to “guarantee compliance with the law.” “through “adequate control”.