Kickstart: Coke, McDonald's, instant ramen cut back on their plastics diet

Coca-Cola Co. is going all in for recycled plastics for key bottle sizes in Canada early next year, following up on an earlier announced switch to all-recycled PET for plastic bottles in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The switch in Canada will cover all 500-milliliter sparkling beverages sold by Coca-Cola in Canada "by early 2024," although the 100 percent recycled content does not include caps and labels.

The bottles will be produced by Coke Canada Bottling at sites in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia.

"This means that no virgin PET plastic will be used for our sparkling 500ml bottles under normal circumstances going forward in Canada," Kurt Ritter, vice president and general manager for sustainability, Coca-Cola North America, said in a news release. "We hope that transitioning … to 100 percent recycled plastic will increase the amount of high-quality, food-grade, recycled plastic available in Canada and, ultimately, enable us to offer more of our brands in this sustainable format."

In Ireland, Coke is working with Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. It said the switch covers all plastic bottles for soft drinks in its portfolio, our sister paper Sustainable Plastics writes.

Coca-Cola HBC's plant in Knockmore Hill, Ireland, has three production lines for PET bottles.

McDonald's restaurants are swapping out the McFlurry spoon in the name of sustainability.

The Chicago-based chain announced Oct. 24 that the spoon — a hollow, square-shaped scoop that doubled as a blender spindle — will be replaced in the U.S. with the same spoon currently handed out with sundaes.

Previously, the combination of spindle and spoon was seen as a time-saving hack, since workers didn't need to replace and wash the blending system after each order. Now McDonald's says it will supply reusable blender parts. The spoon that will be offered with the McFlurry requires less plastic since it doesn't have to be sturdy enough to do double duty in blending the treat.

The company did not specify how much plastic it expects to save with the change but said it is just one example of redesigns planned for "our most iconic products to eliminate unnecessary waste and transition to more sustainable materials."

But while Coca-Cola and McDonald's are reducing their plastics intake, another maker of convenience foods is turning away from it entirely for its familiar packaging.

Nissin Food USA, the maker of Cup Noodles, announced Oct. 26 that it is eliminating its polystyrene cup in favor of a paper version in 2024 for all flavors of its ramen.

"While Cup Noodles will continue to have the same satisfying taste and iconic look, we continue to find ways to evolve the brand to support the needs of our consumers, the environment and the world," Michael Price, president and CEO of Nissin Foods USA, said in a news release.

The paper packaging will also eliminate plastic overwrap and contain 40 percent recycled fiber, the company said. (It also described the package as "polystyrene-free" rather than plastic-free, so there might be some polymer still in use.)