American fast-food company McDonald's announced on Thursday the launch of the program 'Better M' which aims to minimise plastic and improve recyclability in packaging across Europe.
The program includes the complete removal of plastic McFlurry lids in all European branches, the testing of alternatives to the plastic McFlurry spoon, as well as the introduction of a new recyclable straw across Europe.
The new recyclable straw will replace plastic straws in all of Belgium's 86 McDonald's restaurants by the end of 2019.
The removal of the McFlurry lid alone is expected to account for savings of over 1,200 tonnes of plastic per year.
We’re lifting the lid on the McFlurry and introducing new packaging across Europe, reducing plastic use by more than 1,200 metric tons per year https://t.co/k6p5s7yJsZ #BetterM #ScaleforGood pic.twitter.com/XY8EOBiHC3
— McDonald's Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) November 14, 2019
Following in the footsteps of the Netherlands where recyclable masks were a success, McDonald's branches in Belgium will also start to offer recycled paper masks as part of the Happy Meal deal, instead of plastic balloons, explains intelligence resource for European packaging PackagingEurope.
'Better M' is part of the objectives the company set in a global project called 'Scale for Good', which was launched in 2018.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
