The fast-food chain introduced moulded fibre lids at the start of 2025 to replace plastic ones on hot drinks, as part of its “closing the loop on waste” commitment.
By 2030, the company is aiming to reduce the amount of material used across packaging in customer and kitchen areas in the McDonald’s system by 20%, compared to 2023.
However, it seems customers were not happy with the new moulded fibre lids, with some claiming they were the reason they “stopped getting coffee from McDonald’s.”
Many said they went “soggy” and “fell apart”, while others noticed the moulded fibre lids made their hot drinks “taste nasty”.
Why McDonald’s has axed moulded fibre lids on hot drinks
With this in mind, the US fast-food giant has said the lids “didn’t meet expectations” and has removed them from production.
In a statement online, McDonald’s explained: “We’ve temporarily returned to plastic lids on our hot drinks after customer feedback showed our moulded fibre lids didn’t meet expectations.
“We’re currently exploring better‑performing alternatives that meet our quality standards, while continuing to work towards our goal of making all our packaging from renewable, certified or recycled sources.”
Eager McDonald’s fans have already spotted the reversed change which came into place at the end of November, as someone asked on the Reddit page: “Have McDonald’s gone back to plastic lids instead of paper? I got a coffee today and it had a plastic lid which was much easier to drink from than the usual paper one.”
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Someone replied: “Environment and everything, but the cardboard ones made the coffee taste foul.”
Another wrote: “Literally just got one from my local and had to search it up to see if it was permanent and it sounds like it is! Cardboard ones were sh*t, always caved in at the mouth piece.”
This McDonald’s customer posted: “IM SO HAPPY THEY ARE BACK!!!!!”
When the moulded fibre lids were first launched, one person commented: “Absolutely hate them. They go soggy, feel like sh*t and fall apart.”
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A second shared: “This is the reason i stopped getting coffee from mcdonalds.”
Meanwhile, this user said: “The cup makes the drink taste nasty! Taste like I’m drinking plastic or something chemically. Eww.”
Did you prefer the moulded fibre lids or are you happy to see the return of plastic ones? Let us know in the comments.
