Packaging
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, 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 list2
  • Are recyclable, compostable or reusable3
  • Are sourced from areas that do not contribute to deforestation4

Our Approach

Wendy’s industry collaborations are crucial to identifying opportunities to transition our customer-facing restaurant packaging to more sustainable packaging alternatives. When we evaluate new packaging options, we look for ways to balance the sustainability attributes we seek with materials and formats that meet the performance needs of their contents and our customers. To validate the sustainable sourcing of our packaging materials, we work with recognized third-party certification groups such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

Cups

Our clear plastic drink cups, which customers can recycle in select municipalities, are now in all Wendy's restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. We continue to transition to cups made from 20% recycled content.

Fry Cartons

Our fry cartons in the U.S. and Canada have achieved SFI's "certified sourcing" standard and feature the SFI label, indicating to customers that the fiber in the packaging came from responsibly managed forest lands.

How 2 Recycle

As we introduce more packaging with increased recyclability, it is important that we educate consumers on what packaging can be recycled and how to do so. That is why in 2021, Wendy’s joined the How2Recycle label program. Through this program, Wendy’s packaging in the U.S. and Canada features educational information for customers on proper ways to dispose of and recycle restaurant packaging.

Joining the NextGen Consortium 

 

Image of NextGen Consortium 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.  

 

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Learn more about our efforts to reduce waste.
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1 Recycled 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. 
2 Work with third-parties to ensure transparency and accountability to avoid any known chemicals of concern, such as PFAs. 
3 Recyclable 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.
4 All 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).