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Yesterday Kraft Foods announced that by 2025 all of its packaging will be recyclable. (Note that while they include "reusable" and "compostable" in the announcement, they talk almost exclusively about "recyclable.")

Earlier, Starbucks announced that it was eliminating all single-use straws and switching to a "sippy cup" lid. However, it seems that this new lid, while recyclable, may actually use more plastic.

Poor recycling rates around the world are already well-documented in several answers on this site:

It seems intuitive that if people are already bad at recycling, increasing the share of products which are truly recyclable will actually result in recycling rates decreasing.

Are there any large restaurant chains which are pursuing better alternatives than recycling? Obviously as eco-conscious consumers we have a responsibility to reduce, but manufacturers could work on making their packaging reusable, or at the very least compostable.

I'll also include large food manufacturing brands (Kraft, Nestle, Dannon/Danone, etc). Essentially, any large company producing large volumes of food or beverage in their own, branded packaging. Restaurants sell this in their own stores, manufacturers sell it in someone else's stores.

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    A major problem is many do not even recycle what is recyclable.
    – paparazzo
    Aug 10, 2018 at 13:59
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    From BBC news Jan 2018: Fast food giant McDonald's has said all its packaging worldwide will come from sustainable sources by 2025. The world's biggest restaurant chain wants 100% recycle packaging by then (2025), compared with only 10% now (2018).
    – user4844
    Feb 23, 2019 at 9:19

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McDonalds dumped their polystyrene cups several years ago. Their rationale was the poor recycling availability of polystyrene.

McDonalds also once made very heavy use of polystyrene foam "clamshells" for presenting their premium burgers. They have switched to either plain wrappers, or lightly built cardboard boxes that I believe are compost friendly. Those foam clamshells have been gone for at least a decade.

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Loop Industries is promoting their reusable packaging, and has deals with some large brands, though mostly in the cleaning and personal care (as opposed to foods) - like Tide, Clorox and Cascade. Brands working with Loop Industries

Loop provides reusable totes and packaging, along with delivery, pickup and cleaning/sterilization. See how it works for more details

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    Hello and welcome! are you affiliated with Loop? If so, you'll need to indicate that in your answer. Thanks!
    – LShaver ♦
    Nov 16, 2019 at 21:03
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    No I'm not. I would like to apply there but have not done so. I wasn't sure how to make this read from a more neutral point of view since I only know of one tangentially related company.
    – LexTalionis
    Nov 16, 2019 at 21:04

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