Great news for our planet

At Arcos Dorados we are proud to announce that on November 21 we took another step forward in the protection of our environment. Our restaurants in Argentina will not be providing any more plastic straws or lids for coffee cups and other beverage cups. A new lid design that doesn’t require a straw will be used only for Drive-Thru or McDelivery orders.

In addition, we are committed to replacing single-use plastics in salad packs and free plates and cups with new sustainable paper and cardboard options.

A year ago we set out to address one of the biggest problems on our planet: plastic pollution. Straws made from this material are now considered to be one of the greatest threats to the environment, since they take 100 to 1,000 years to decompose.

So on October 31, 2018, we launched the “Straws on Demand” project, with the aim of reducing plastic consumption in all our restaurants in Latin America. Since then, straws have only been provided to customers who request them.

We have since managed to reduce the consumption of more than 200 tons of plastic through this program and just in Argentina the use of straws was reduced by 30%. We’re sure this proportion will be even greater in the next few years.

The initiatives launched in our restaurants are in line with our Company’s global goals to promote sustainability and fight pollution and climate change. So we project that 100% of our products and packaging will come from renewable or certified sources and are working towards recycling the greatest amount of waste possible from our restaurants.

“The responsibility we have taken on with the environment is part of our values ​​as a company and we will keep striving to fulfill it. Through this kind of initiative, we teach millions of people the importance of small environmentally-friendly habits, so that we can all be part of the solution”, said Gabriel Serber, our director of Social Engagement and Sustainable Development.

We will continue to take on new challenges at our Company that have a positive impact on our environment. We are committed to expanding our actions, taking advantage of our scale, so that more and more people around the world adopt habits that contribute to protecting our planet.