McDonald’s announced on July 18 its plans to phase out plastic straws across all Australian chains by 2020. Paper straws will be trialed as a replacement while the company finds a viable alternative, according to a statement.
The paper straw trial will begin in August in two outlets, which will be part of a larger, long-term global effort to identify viable, sustainable alternatives to its single-use plastic straws.
“We know plastic straws is a topic our customers are passionate about and we will find a viable solution,” Robert Sexton, McDonald’s Australia director of supply chain said.
Environmental groups such as Clean Up Australia say Australians use about 10 million straws every day, or 3.5 billion a year, according to their website.The move to phase out plastic straws comes after the banning of plastic bags in Woolworth and Coles supermarkets across the nation.
