UBQ Trays
Alternative plastic McDonald's trays in Latin America and Carribean
Arcos Dorados, the largest independent McDonald’s franchise in the world, which operates stores throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, is rolling out thousands of trays made from the material as it works to shrink its use of virgin plastic. The material, called UBQ, is unique in that it’s recycled from a mix of materials. “UBQ’s process begins with unsorted household waste destined for landfills—banana peels, chicken bones, and other food leftovers; cardboard and paper; diapers and mixed plastics—everything besides glass and metal, which we remove and send out to recycle,” says Albert Douer, executive chairman of UBQ Materials, the Israel-based company that produces the material. For the McDonald’s franchise, the shift is part of a larger effort to reduce both single-use and virgin plastic. “We started our plastic reduction program in 2018,” says Gabriel Serber, director of sustainable development and social impact at Arcos Dorados.