McDonalds vows to reduce use of plastic in Happy Meal toys by 2025

By Team Newsable | First Published Sep 22, 2021, 11:16 AM IST

The modification entails replacing a plastic figurine of Batman, for example, with one composed of a dozen cardboard parts that children can assemble themselves. McDonald's has stated that more toys will be manufactured from recycled or plant-based plastics.

McDonald's Corp said on Tuesday that by the end of 2025, it would have substantially reduced the use of plastic in the more than 1 billion children's toys it sells each year internationally. The modification entails replacing a plastic figurine of Batman, for example, with one composed of a dozen cardboard parts that children can assemble themselves. McDonald's has stated that more toys will be manufactured from recycled or plant-based plastics. The modifications will help the Chicago-based firm reduce its usage of virgin fossil fuel-based plastic for Happy Meals by 90% compared to 2018.

McDonald's is one of several restaurant businesses attempting to decrease environmental damage caused by packaging and other items. Burger King, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc, said in 2019 that it would no longer provide free plastic toys. Customers may return old ones to be melted down and reused as trays and other products. The Center for Biological Diversity's population and sustainability director, Stephanie Feldstein, said in a statement that if McDonald's truly wanted to be more sustainable, it should cut the quantity of beef it serves and "stop nibbling around the margins of sustainability."

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McDonald's, which began selling Happy Meals in 1979, transitioned to more environmentally friendly toys in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France in 2018. Similar toys will soon be available in the more than 100 countries where Happy Meals are sold. McDonald's already uses certain environmentally friendly toys, such as books and Pokemon collector cards, in the United States. According to Amy Murray, vice president of global marketing enablement, more similar toys will be available in the United States in January. She claims that the redesigned Happy Meals will not cost franchisees any extra money.

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