Foam cups have been available for both tea and soda at our McDonalds here in Central Illinois for quite some time.
Apparently, their return to Chicago McD's is something new.
Some local McDonald's restaurants are throwing it back to the old days — not with a new menu item, but with plastic foam cups.
McDonald's says some Chicago-area restaurants are using foam cups instead of more environmentally friendly options this summer for large drinks despite pressure from shareholders to phase foam out for good.
The world's largest burger chain previously only used foam cups for iced tea year-round in the U.S., spokeswoman Becca Hary said. She declined to say why it brought the cups back to Chicago or if they were brought back in other cities too.
It's unclear how many McDonald's in the Windy City are back to using polystyrene cups that don't biodegrade and were supposedly being phased out across the company as the burger chain attempts to become more eco-friendly. In fact, McDonald's has promised to use only certified or recycled packaging by 2020. In 2013, McDonald's stopped using Styrofoam cups to serve its hot beverages, and in recent years, the company has only used Styrofoam cups for its iced tea —as opposed to all its cold beverages.
Some folks are not happy:
By reintroducing foam cups, McDonald's appears to be backsliding on its long-held assurance to use more environmentally friendly packaging. It's also out of sync with a growing band of huge brand-name corporations vowing to get rid of foam plastic products.
Instead, McDonald's is signaling it's doggedly committed to this old-school selling tactic despite CEO Steve Easterbrook's corporate modernization effort, a top-to-bottom reworking aimed at attracting young adult customers.
Unless I am off my rocker, the foam cups being used by McDonalds are the same type/variety being used by gas stations everywhere. And cold drinks walk out of those places many times an hour, 24/7.
So the issue is...... what? The "backsliding" of an earlier commitment?
Consumers speak loudly. If they want a foam cup, they'll get a foam cup. At McD's...... or at Hucks, Circle K, Marathon, etc., etc.
Without the foam, the cold pop turns into a weak sugar water within 30 minutes. Plus, there's all sorts of condensation that forms on those plastic cups.
Plus, pop tastes better when sucked out of foam. That's been scientifically proven. Seriously. "Matt Science"
Out for now.......
Matt
