MCDONALD'S has said it will no longer offer plastic toys in its Happy Meals from 2021.
The fast food giant, which has 26 restaurants across the north and over 100 on the island of Ireland, said the move will remove 3,000 metric tons of plastic from the its business in the UK and Ireland.
McDonald's said its Happy Meals will only include soft toys, sustainable paper-based gifts or books as the company works to find sustainable alternatives to hard plastic.
Last year the company switched to paper only straws, made at packaging firm Huhtamaki’s plant in Antrim. The £12m move by the Finnish owned company created 100 jobs at Kilbegs Business park.
McDonald's now said it will start trialling paper packaging for Happy Meal toys this month, with the paper packaging extended to books from August. It said removing the use of plastic polybags reduce plastic by a further 200 tonnes.
From May 2020, customers will be able to choose between a book or toy with each Happy Meal. The same month will also see the launch of a five-week nationwide toy amnesty across the UK and Ireland.
The returned plastic will be recycled into play equipment for Ronald McDonald House charities.
McDonald’s chief marketing officer for the UK and Ireland, Gareth Helm, said: “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.
“We want to use our reach and influence to bring customers with us on the journey towards more sustainable living. Today’s announcement reflects our mission to continue to trial, test and learn from innovative sustainable solutions.
“Most importantly, we’re committed to listening to our customers and working with our suppliers to ensure we are taking every possible opportunity to provide quality food sourced, made, packaged and enjoyed responsibly.”
Keith Kenny, vice president of McDonald’s global sustainability division added: “We are excited to use learnings from these initiatives in the UK and Ireland and other market sustainability programs to inform our global approach.”
