Burger King, McDonald's reduce plastic toy waste

Both fast food giants are moving away from traditional non-biodegradable plastic toys.

Burger King will be completely removing all plastic toys from its King Junior Meals, whilst rival fast food chain McDonald’s will give customers the option to ‘swap out’ the Happy Meal toy for a non-plastic alternative.

Burger King commemorated its move by installing a giant melting toy on the Southbank, also explaining that the initiative will save an estimated 320 tonnes of single use plastic annually.

“We are a global brand, and the UK market will be leading the way in making this first step towards change, which is part of our wider commitment on reducing plastics. Work is currently underway across all of our markets to look at how we can completely move away from non biodegradable plastic toys by 2025,” Burger King global chief marketing officer Fernando Machado said.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s says the business will provide customers with the option to swap a Happy Meal toy for a fruit bag. By early 2020, they will also run a trial of always offering customers a choice between a book and a toy.

“We recognise that some people may not want a plastic Happy Meal toy, but we also know that the gifts provide fun for many families and children. That’s why we’ll be running these trials, in order to give our customers a choice; they also can choose not to have a toy or gift at all,” McDonald’s UK and Ireland CEO Paul Pomroy said.

Photo credit: Burger King Facebook