Companies are looking to be more environmentally conscious and consumers are starting to seek out products that cause less harm to the planet. McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) plastic straw ban in the U.K., for instance, shows that the company taking a step to reduce its environmental footprint and seek environmentally-friendly alternatives. Plastic straws are shown to have disastrous effects on marine life and plastic pollution.
McDonald's announced that it would replace plastic straws with paper straws in all of its 1,300 U.K. locations starting in May, becoming the latest major company to ban plastic straws in an effort to reduce pollution. Chains such as Wagamama and Pizza Express are also moving away from plastic straws.
According to McDonalds U.K. CEO Paul Pomroy told Sky News, "customers have told us that they don't want to be given a straw and that they want to have to ask for one, so we're acting on that. "Straws are one of those things that people feel passionately about, and rightly so, and we're moving those straws behind the front counter."
The widening ban on plastic straws comes as United Nations figures show eight million tons of plastic - bottles, packaging and other waste - enter the ocean each year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain. Furthermore, straws are one the top 10 items found during beach cleanups. And although straws represent a small portion of the tons of plastic that ends up in the ocean every year, several believe that plastic straws are an easy way to get people started on reducing their plastic use. Straw maker Fuling Global (NASDAQ: FORK) estimated that U.S. consumers use 20 billion plastic straws annually.
In the U.S., many cities are banning plastic straws. Seattle, Fort Meyers, Malibu and others have banned restaurants from giving them out, and as a result several restaurants are finding ways to adapt to this change in plastic use, seeking alternatives such as paper, bamboo or pasta.
Plastic manufacturers are struggling with the shifting tides from consumers. To keep up, companies are promoting recycling of their plastic products. Plastic manufacturers have complained that it is difficult, and costly, to provide eco-friendly straws. Until cheap, viable alternative is available, manufacturers will continue to promote recycling as much as possible to meet the needs of customers, arguing that the key is coming up with realistic recycling programs.
As for plastic recycling, the human track record so far is pathetic. Of the 6.9 billion tons of plastic waste ever created, almost all of it has ended up in landfills or the environment. Greener products made of bamboo, paper, metal, and glass, are still hard to come by. But creating these options for consumers is imperative and small actions will still make a difference in our foot print on the Earth.
Currently, all of McDonald's packing is recyclable, except for the drink lids, which the chain hopes to find a solution for within the next year.