McDonald's could start printing car registration numbers on takeaway bags in a bid to stop customers from littering.
Under new plans being considered by council chiefs in Wales, the fast good giant could launch the initiative due to an increase in litter following the first coronavirus lockdown.
Swansea Council's head of waste, parks and cleansing, Chris Howell said the idea was "good" in theory but has drawbacks, reports Wales Online.
McDonald's said it wants to encourage customers to dispose of packaging responsibly and they remain "open to the proposal".
However, the company said it has looked into the idea of putting car plate numbers on bags before, but there are a few challenges associated with implementing it, due to the way it processes customers' data.
Mr Howell told a climate change corporate delivery committee meeting: "The Welsh Government has explored with McDonald's, or their franchises, whether or not they could print number plates of cars collecting takeaways from their drive-throughs with a view that that would discourage people from discarding their materials (litter).
Mr Howell said there was an issue about which fast-food companies would "go first" with such an initiative.
He said: "If McDonald's do it, then people will just go to Burger King instead of McDonald's, because nobody wants to have their private details printed on that packaging."
He added: "I think it's a really good idea but at the minute it's fraught with some difficulties."
A McDonald's spokesperson said: "Encouraging our customers to dispose of our packaging responsibly is something we take seriously at McDonald’s and we have looked into this proposal a number of times over the years.
"Unfortunately, we are not able to process our customers’ data in this way. Additionally, we have concerns around the effectiveness of printing registration plate numbers on our packaging or receipts, and are not convinced that it would provide strong enough evidence to support local authorities in prosecuting litter offences.
"We remain open to the proposal in principle and continue to keep its feasibility under review. Meanwhile, we continue to reward customers for binning their litter through our partnership with LitterLotto as well as supporting a number of anti-litter campaigns and initiatives with Keep Britain Tidy, Keep Wales Tidy and environmental charity Hubbub."
