Fast food companies across Europe may be forced to switch to more traditional forms of restaurant dishes as the European Union is set to require them to use plates and washable cups to reduce the amount of waste.
The European Parliament is set to vote on the new measures in two weeks to amend an existing ordinance, but members of the food and beverage industry are pushing back against the proposal, along with those who manufacture the packaging affected by the proposed changes, Die Presse reports.
The European Packaging Industry Association (EPPA) has criticised the measures, saying, “The proposal would lead to a flood of hard plastic products on European markets, which would ultimately end up in rivers, seas, and landfills.”
German Christian Democratic Union MEP and environmental policy spokesman for the European People’s Party (EPP) Peter Liese was also critical, saying, “We really have other worries at the moment” and said the EPP was in favour of scrapping the ban on wasteful packaging.
Fast food restaurants are not the only ones to be affected by the proposed changes, as coffee shops will be required to stop using small bags for sugar and use a traditional sugar shaker instead. Hotels will also have to stop using small bottles of shampoo or soap under the new guidelines.
In some parts of the EU, such as France, there have already been bans on single-use wrappers and packaging, with a report from December of last year noting that fast food companies in the country were facing a “revolution” as the measures came into place on January 1st of this year.
The rules state that any restaurant that provides space for 20 seats or more will have to use reusable cups, dishware, and cutlery to reduce waste.
Alice Elfassi, head of legal affairs for the NGO Zero Waste France, one of the groups that pushed for the changes, stated that it would have an effect on the amount of waste.
“Fast food is a sector that produces a lot of waste. Although single-use plastic had already been banned, it had been replaced by large amounts of throwaway products like cardboard, wood, and bamboo, which we consider an unacceptable waste of resources,” Elfassi said.
The fast food giant McDonald’s has rolled out its own reusable plastic containers for French fries, while rival Burger King has done the same for reusable bowls and cups.
