How2Recycle, the leading recycling labeling system in the US and Canada, is excited to welcome Yum! Brands and their KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands into the How2Recycle label program. Yum! Brands, based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 50,000 restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories and is a global leader of the chicken, pizza, and Mexican-style food categories. Yum!’s global citizenship and sustainability strategy, called its Recipe for Good, focuses on responsible and sustainable growth, of which minimizing waste is a key component. Yum! is committed to first reducing, and then mindfully reusing or recycling the waste generated at their restaurants.
Making meaningful progress in the recycling space requires addressing several recyclability challenges from a changing global recycling market to navigating a patchwork of regulations in the U.S. and around the world. Yum!’s membership with How2Recycle will help its brands in reaching a number of their waste reduction goals. To date, the brands have made the following 2025 commitments:
- KFC will make all plastic-based, consumer-facing packaging recoverable or reusable globally
- Taco Bell will make all its consumer-facing packaging recyclable, compostable, or reusable, and add recycling and/or composting bins to restaurants globally where infrastructure permits.
“Yum! is proud to partner with How2Recycle and leverage their work to educate our brands’ consumers when it comes to recycling,” said Jon Hixson, Yum! chief sustainability officer and vice president of global government affairs. “This partnership further strengthens our commitment to minimize our restaurants’ impact on the planet by reducing, reusing, and recycling.”
Yum! believes that working with strategic partners who share a similar circularity vision is a critical step to making progress in this space and will ultimately help Yum! achieve their goals, drive broader industry change, and educate consumers. By joining How2Recycle, Yum! can leverage their work around standardized labeling that provides clear instructions on how to recycle more and recycle better.
