
McDonald’s UK and Ireland have announced steps that will help the fast food chain remove more than 3,000 metric tons of plastic from its business.
Acting on a petition started by two schoolgirls last year, McDonald’s UK & I will start phasing out plastic from its Happy Meals in a bid to become more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Starting this month, plastic packaging from Happy Meal toys will be swapped with paper-based packaging.
From May, outlets in the UK and Ireland will offer customers the option to choose between a toy or book for every Happy Meal purchased.
In the same month, the business will also initiate a five week ‘toy amnesty’ so that customers can return their unwanted plastic toys to any of its 1,350 sites across the UK. The returned toys will be recycled and made into new equipment for Ronald McDonald House Charities in the UK and Ireland.
For the environment
“We care passionately about the environment and are committed to reducing plastic across our business including within our Happy Meal,” said Gareth Helm, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of McDonald’s UK and Ireland.
“Families have high expectations of us and we’re working as hard as we can to give them the confidence that their Happy Meal is as sustainable as possible.
“Getting that right is a big responsibility, but we believe the changes we’re making today have the potential to make a big difference.”
McDonald’s claims its new sustainability initiatives will remove more than 3,000 metric tons of plastic from its supply chain.
It added that by August, the restaurant chain will start using paper packaging to wrap books in Happy Meals, which will further help remove 200 tonnes of plastic from the business by 2021.
According to McDonald’s, this has been the brand’s biggest effort to reduce plastic and the fast food chain is “committed to sustainable sourcing and to exploring the production of more sustainable Happy Meal Toys”.
Depending on its success, the company will roll out the programme to other franchises globally.
“We are excited to use learnings from these initiatives in the UK and Ireland and other market sustainability programmes to inform our global approach,” said Keith Kenny, vice president of McDonald’s Global Sustainability.
Share this news to support McDonald’s sustainability initiatives.
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
8 practical ways you get your loved ones to quit eating meat
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 31st March 2023
Eating meat has long been a contentious issue, with people often having strong opinions on both sides of the discussion. For those who are committed to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, it can be difficult to watch their loved ones continue to consume meat. However, there are ways to have a constructive and persuasive conversation …
Continue reading “8 practical ways you get your loved ones to quit eating meat”
The Lord of the Rings franchise under fire after horse dies on set for the second time
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 27th March 2023
PETA renews calls for Hollywood to replace animals with CGI Amazon’s television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has come under fire after a horse died during rehearsals for a season 2 scene in the UK. The horse was one of about 30 on set that day and died of cardiac …
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …
Continue reading “QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert”
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a …
Continue reading “QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?”
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …