McDonald's still rejects customers' reusable mugs due to COVID-19 — unless they live in Vancouver

Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This story is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page.

Donna Patterson of Toronto said she was disappointed when she visited two local McDonald's restaurants in the past couple of months and was told she couldn't be served tea in her reusable mug.

"It doesn't make sense," said Patterson, who volunteers with a Toronto environmental group. "I said to them, 'You're going to lose business from this, because I noticed there's a groundswell of people that want to be [using reusables] now.'"

McDonald's Canada has yet to adopt a permanent national policy allowing customers to be served coffee or tea in their reusable mugs, instead of disposable cups. 

The fast-food chain blames the delay on COVID-19 related health concerns. Even so, since Jan. 17, McDonald's has accepted customers' reusable mugs in Vancouver, following the implementation of a city bylaw mandating those buying coffee in disposable cups pay a 25-cent fee.

Some environmentalists say McDonald's continuing to reject customers' personal mugs in other locations is unacceptable as the planet faces numerous environmental threats. 

"McDonald's should absolutely be encouraging customers to bring their own cups to every store," said Karen Wirsig, project manager for Environmental Defence.

"Why are they delaying this? This is such low-hanging fruit. 'Oh, you've got your own cup. I can pour stuff into it.' … I don't even understand any excuse."

Disposable coffee cups are problematic because they're lined with plastic, making them difficult to recycle. As a result, most of the cups — and their plastic lids — end up in landfills or as litter, strewn along roadsides and shorelines.

In fact, disposable cups and lids combined consistently make The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup's annual "dirty dozen" list because its volunteers collect so many of them. 

"Coffee cups and lids have been found to be one of the most pervasive single-use plastic items found in our oceans and on our shorelines," said the environmental organization, Oceana Canada, in a statement earlier this year. 

Pre-pandemic, it was standard practice for coffee shops to accept reusable mugs. McDonald's, however, said it left the decision up to franchisees. Consequently, many locations rejected personal mugs, sparking customer complaints. 

In response to an inquiry about the complaints, McDonald's told CBC News in January 2020 that it hoped to implement a national reusable mug policy by the end of the following month. 

"We listen to our guests, and we know this is an area of growing importance to Canadians," said spokesperson Ryma Boussoufa in an email.