Washington, DC – McDonald’s announced that it will phase out plastic straws in the UK and Ireland by 2019, and that it will trial alternatives to plastic straws in select restaurants in the U.S., France, Sweden, Norway and Australia later this year.
In response to the phase out in the UK, Greenpeace UK Senior Oceans Campaigner Louise Edge said:
“McDonald’s phasing out plastic straws in the UK is a small step ahead of an anticipated government ban, but the scale of the fast food giant means this move will have impact. However McDonald’s really needs to pick up the pace in reducing its massive global plastic footprint. That means ditching plastic straws globally, not just in the UK, and urgently eliminating all unnecessary or difficult to recycle plastic from its restaurants. It’s only this level of action that will get McDonald’s plastic waste off our beaches and out of our oceans.”
In response to the news of a global trial of alternatives, Greenpeace Global Plastics Project Leader Graham Forbes said:
“McDonald’s straw announcement is a step in the right direction, but the fast food giant must continue to scale up its ambition and move with urgency to rid its entire global operations of plastics straws and other single-use plastic that pollutes our oceans, waterways, and communities. Importantly, the alternatives that McDonald’s trials should not come at the expense of the world’s forests and the communities that depend on them, and must ensure that the disabled community continues to have access to the straws they need. It’s time for all corporations and retailers to show urgency by reducing their plastic footprints immediately.”
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Contact:
Perry Wheeler, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications, Specialist, P: +1 301-675-8766
Alex Sedgwick, Greenpeace UK Press Officer, P: 07773 043 386
