McDonald’s Australia will phase out existing plastic straws from its 970 restaurants by 2020 and will start trialling paper straws in two stores from August.
The company is currently working with local suppliers to find viable, sustainable alternatives as part of its long-term global effort.
It also supports McDonald’s goals for 100 per cent of guest packaging to be from renewable, recycled, or certified sources by 2025 and to have guest packaging recycling in all restaurants globally.
Further to its commitments around plastic straws, McDonald’s is currently trialing cup recycling through a partnership with Simply Cups.
The trial, which launched in April in eight restaurants, includes segmented dining room bins to separate liquids, plastics, paper cups and general waste.
McDonald’s Australia director of supply chain Robert Sextonn said beverage cups were a unique concern when it comes to recycling through normal paper recycling facilities due to the inner plastic lining.
"By separating the cups through designated bins we can ensure cups are diverted to the right facility to recycle this material," he said.
"Our trials will provide useful learnings that will help to determine next steps for potential wider restaurant implementation.”
Other changes at the Big M
McDonald’s has been the winner of the Australian Packaging Covenant's QSR high performer award for six consecutive years (2012– 2017). While the company makes numerous changes each year (see below).
