Wendy's cups
Sustainable Packaging
Wendy’s has set a goal to
Sustainably source  100% of our customer-facing packaging by 2026

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 

 

NextGen Cup Challenge logo

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.  

 

Learn More >

1Recycled content is the proportion, by mass, of recycled material in packaging. Recycled material is material that has been reprocessed from recovered material by means of a manufacturing process and made into a final product or into a component for incorporation into a product. 
2Work with third-parties to ensure transparency and accountability to avoid any known chemicals of concern, such as PFAs. 
3Recyclable packaging can be diverted from the waste stream through available processes and programs and can be collected, processed and returned to use in the form of raw materials or products. Compostable packaging means that it undergoes degradation by biological processes during composting to yield CO2, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials and that leaves no visible, distinguishable, or toxic residue. Reusable packaging means that it has been conceived and designed to accomplish within its lifecycle a certain number of trips, rotations or uses for the same purpose for which it was conceived. No packaging shall be claimed to be reusable or refillable unless the product or packaging can be reused or refilled for its original purpose.
4All consumer-facing paper, fiber and pulp-derived packaging materials will hold applicable certification or equivalent by 2026 (e.g., Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Forest Stewardship Council, or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification).