McDonald's to ditch hard plastic toys

McDonald's UK and Ireland will no longer include toys made from non-recycled or non-renewable forms of hard plastic in its Happy Meals from 2021.

The move will eliminate over 3,000 metric tons of non-sustainable plastic, with McDonald's instead offering soft toys and paper-based gifts or books.

This represents the biggest reduction in plastic by McDonald's UK and Ireland to date as it looks to reduce its environmental impact across all areas of the business.

UK & Ireland chief marketing officer Gareth Helm said: “We want to use our reach and influence to bring customers with us on the journey towards more sustainable living.

“We care passionately about the environment and are committed to reducing plastic across our business, including within our Happy Meal.

New paper packaging will also be introduced for Happy Meal books from August, removing the plastic wrapping entirely from 2021 and a further 200 tonnes of plastic.

McDonald's has also trialled paper packaging for its toys, and the packaging will be introduced for Happy Meal books from August, removing the plastic wrapping entirely from 2021 and a further 200 tonnes of plastic.

From May 2020, McDonald's will offer everyone the choice of either a book or a toy with every Happy Meal in the UK and Ireland, giving families the choice to opt out of a plastic gift.

It will also run a five-week nationwide toy amnesty starting in May, collecting any unwanted plastic toys in its 1,350 restaurants and recycling the returned plastic into play equipment.

“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, Helm added.

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