The order was prompted following Fair Resource Foundation filling an enforcement request with the country’s regulator, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT), alleging breaches of a rule in force since January 2024.
The Dutch inspectorate carried out numerous visits to McDonald’s restaurants and reported multiple violations of the single-use plastics requirements.
The investigation followed allegations that the company continued serving products in disposable coated-paper cups while charging customers an additional €0.15 per cup.
McDonald’s Netherlands has although, been given a reprieve of sorts, having been ordered to comply with the reusable packaging requirement from 5 January 2027.
Chloé Schwizgebel, a project coordinator at the Fair Resource Foundation, said: “It is fantastic news that McDonald’s Netherlands promises to finally have a reuse system exclusively for on-site consumption; as the market leader with over three million customers per week, which has a significant influence on the rest of the market, its environmental impact extends beyond that of its own company. When they finally make the switch, it will give a boost to the reuse sector. And this is what we have fought for. But let us not forget that this should have happened more than two years ago, that action was required from us, and that we have yet to see it in practice.”