Our journey to sustainable packaging
To accomplish this, over the next five years, Wendy’s will optimize our customer-facing packaging and transition to sustainable options, including items that:
- Have higher recycled content1
- Use fewer raw materials
- Adhere to an established restricted substance list 2
- Are recyclable, compostable or reusable3
- Are sourced from areas that do not contribute to deforestation4
Progress
We continue to set additional incremental goals and make progress against these targets. In the U.S., we are establishing a full restricted substances list, exploring strawless lids and using a Company-operated restaurant to test innovative packaging ideas. In Canada, we are moving from plastic salad bags to paper and from plastic stir sticks to birch wood stir sticks. Further, we anticipate full elimination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called PFAS, from consumer-facing packaging in the U.S. and Canada by the end of 2021.
Joining the NextGen Consortium
In 2019, Wendy’s became a supporting partner of the NextGen Consortium, a collaboration managed by Closed Loop Partners that is devoted to finding global solutions to reduce single-use food packaging waste. We continue to work closely with NextGen as it expands its work beyond its initial focus on fiber to-go cups. NextGen Consortium is now working to identify even more opportunities to advance the design, commercialization and recovery of packaging alternatives — from new materials and recovery strategies to reusable packaging systems that keep materials in use for as long as possible.