Can You Use A Reusable Coffee Cup At McDonald's?

While McDonald's might get overshadowed by Starbucks when it comes to coffee, the fast food chain serves coffee all day and pours over 500 million cups per year. That's a lot of single-use cups — bringing your own travel mug to get coffee to-go is one of the easiest steps you can take to reduce waste. Most of us already have one at home, and it's just a matter of remembering to bring it. But does McDonald's even allow this?

It depends on what country you are in — each has different rules — and if in the United States, it depends on the individual location. In our Northern neighbor, Canada, McDonald's does accept reusable travel mugs for hot tea and coffee, but not for iced coffee drinks, fountain drinks, or specialty beverages. The order must be placed at the front counter (not at the drive-thru), and customers receive a $0.10 discount. McDonald's locations in Europe operate slightly differently, with some countries like Germany and the Netherlands offering reusable cups or mugs in the restaurant.

And in the United States, well, it can depend on the location and even the employees. There is no official rule for using your own mug to get coffee to-go, and so there is no consistency across the country. The best bet is to call ahead and check, and get to know which locations are okay with this. This might have been possible in the past when McDonald's had self-serve coffee machines with free refills, but these sadly no longer exist. 

Don't come with the expectation that you'll be able to use your own mug to get coffee to-go at a McDonald's location in the United States. As there is no official policy regarding this, employees aren't always going to have a clear answer. So don't blame the employees if they say no — they're not the ones who make the policies, and they could get in trouble with managers depending on the location.

That said, if you do show up at a McDonald's with your own travel mug, there are some steps you can take to increase your chances of being able to use it. This should be a no-brainer, but make sure your cup is clean before presenting it to the employees. Assume that you'll only be able to use it at the front counter, and not at the drive-thru. Try to use a mug that is the same or similar size to what size of coffee you're asking for, either 12, 16, or 21 ounces. Like in Canada, you may be restricted to certain beverages, such as hot coffee or tea.

If your local McDonald's doesn't allow reusable coffee mugs, there may be another solution in the future. By the end of 2025, the fast food chain aims to for all of its packaging to come from renewable or recycled materials. Hopefully, if this rollout does happen, it will be more successful than when McDonald's changed to more sustainable straws.