Burger King is removing all plastic toys from its children’s meals served in the
UK from Thursday in a bid to save an estimated 320 tonnes of waste annually.
The fast food chain said the move was part of a wider commitment to reduce its use of plastic, and admitted it was “spurred on” by Southampton sisters Ella and Caitlin McEwan’s petition against the use of plastic toys in children’s meals.
The Change.org petition, calling on Burger King and McDonald’s to “think of the environment and stop giving plastic toys with their kids meals”, has attracted more than half a million signatures since it was launched almost a year ago.
McDonald’s also announced it will provide customers with the option to swap the toy for a fruit bag to reduce its plastic consumption.
Burger King UK chief executive Alasdair Murdoch said: “We’re making a start. This is a step in the right direction. If it makes other competitors move their practices forward, that can only be a good thing.”
On Wednesday, McDonalds announcement it will be giving customers the option to swap out their Happy Meal toys for fruit bags from October. This followed a meeting with the McEwan sisters at the start of September.Related... McDonald’s To Try 'Swapping Out' Happy Meal Toys With Fruit Bags Burger King said it is also installing amnesty bins in every one of its restaurants across the UK where people can drop off any free plastic meal toys, including those given away with confectionery or children’s magazines.
The plastic will be transformed into new play areas and restaurant items including interactive trays.
To mark the announcement, Burger King has installed an oversized toy on the Southbank in
London as part of efforts to encourage the public to hand in their old plastic toys.
Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer at Burger King, said: “Work is currently under way across all of our markets to look at how we can completely move away from non-biodegradable plastic toys by 2025.”
HuffPost UK has asked Burger King UK whether there will be any replacement of the plastic toys with a more sustainable alternative.
We will update this piece when they respond.Related... The Best Wooden Toys To Buy Babies And Toddlers This Christmas We Tried Vegan Sushi - Here's What We Thought How The World Went Mad For Plastic And Why It's In Everything We Buy