McDonald’s Replacement of Plastic Straws

Environment Minister Michael Gove called this “a major contribution to helping the environment” and added that it was “a model for other large companies.”

The ban has not been extended to other chain‘s in the global empire, but trials will begin in specific restaurants in the United States, France, and Norway.

This is because the company is under increasing pressure to reduce disposable plastic products and packaging, while worrying about plastic pollution in the ocean. Items such as straws will eventually harm wild animals such as turtles and fish.

McDonald’s said there are two suppliers which have been found  to meet its demand for paper tubes. A global company called Huhtamaki, which owns a production plant in Belfast, and Welsh startup Transcend Packaging.

Since April, the chain of restaurants have conducted paper replacement trials in a few venues and found that customers responded positively to this change, and most people support the effort to the protection of the environment.