Yum China Cutting Out Non-Degradable Plastics in Restaurants

Published 3 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: Yum China

New year, new plastic-reduction commitments! Yum China Holdings, Inc. — parent company of Western fast-food favorites including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in mainland China — has launched a series of plastic-reduction and environmentally friendly packaging initiatives across its brands in line with the latest regulations in China. The company has committed to replace existing plastic packaging with paper straws, paper bags, and biodegradable plastic bags across its restaurants — and expects a reduction of approximately 8,000 tons of non-degradable plastics annually starting this year.

KFC China recently launched a "Be Natural, Be You" sustainability campaign to foster consumer awareness of environmental protection and encourage more sustainable lifestyles, including reducing the use of disposable plastic packaging and better waste sorting.

From January 2021, all KFC restaurants in mainland China will stop using plastic straws and over 90% of KFC restaurants will replace disposable plastic cutlery with wooden cutlery for dine-in and takeaway. In addition, non-degradable plastic bags used for delivery and takeaway in over 50% KFC restaurants will be replaced with paper bags or biodegradable plastic bags. By the end of 2025, all KFC restaurants will phase out non-degradable plastic bags and cutlery in mainland China.

As of the end of 2020, all Pizza Hut restaurants in mainland China have eliminated the use of plastic straws. At the same time, over 70% of Pizza Hut restaurants across the country have replaced existing plastic bags with paper bags or biodegradable plastic bags. Building on these achievements, Pizza Hut will eliminate the use of non-degradable plastic bags by the end of 2022.

In addition to complying with regulatory requirements, these latest actions reflect Yum China's company-wide packaging strategy that aims to reduce disposable packaging from source through the use of new packaging solutions, new materials, as well as innovative technologies. The strategy includes ensuring that all customer facing, plastic-based packaging is recyclable, refusing to purchase paper products from suppliers that knowingly cause deforestation, and working towards a 30% reduction on non-degradable plastic packaging weight by 2025.

"The new plastic reduction initiatives reinforce our sustainability strategy to drive meaningful change through packaging innovation and reduction." said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. "In line with our long-term commitment of supporting economic, social and environmental development, we are committed to working with customers, partners, and all other stakeholders to promote a more sustainable future."

Yum China says it has been exploring more sustainable materials and designs to reduce disposable packaging from source of use and encourage consumer behavior change. Since 2017, KFC China has provided a "No Cutlery" option for customers when placing an order via its Super APP, to encourage them to reduce the use of disposable packaging. In addition, KFC China rolled out reusable serving baskets in 2019, which saved more than 2,000 tons of paper packaging and reduced restaurant waste in 2019 by approximately 20%. In addition to the reusable serving basket program, KFC China launched the Grassland Restoration Initiative in 2019, which encouraged over 200,000 people to give their support to the restoration of more than 1 million square meters of grassland in Inner Mongolia.

In 2020, Yum China was named the Industry Leader for the Restaurant & Leisure Facilities Industry in Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) in recognition of the Company's strong performance across economic, environmental and social dimensions. Yum China was also selected as a member of 2020 DJSI World and DJSI Emerging Markets. By making sustainable development an integral part of business operations, Yum China is committed to promoting mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships that enhance the Company's long-term value.