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For young McDonald’s customers, this means that instead of a few plastic figures, they will be given 3D paper toys that they can put together on their own. Some paper toys, like Pokémon trading cards, are already on the US market. More options, which could include board games with traded-in traditional plastic parts and other types of toys, will start appearing in US Happy Meals in January.
McDonald’s engagement marks the latest evolution of the Happy Meal program, which was introduced in 1979 and has been the subject of controversy over the years. Over the past decade, the company has also changed the Happy Meal menu to make it healthier. In 2018, for example, he promised to take cheeseburgers off the map by 2022.
McDonald’s made changes to its Happy Meal toys a few years ago following the reaction of consumers concerned about plastic waste generated by toys.
In 2019, Mcdonalds (MCD) started testing books, board games and stuffed animals at Happy Meals in the UK. As of this year, Happy Meals in the UK and Ireland no longer include toys made from non-recycled or non-renewable types of hard plastic. The company also started offering books and paper toys throughout the region this year to avoid plastic altogether. And since February, Happy Meals in France no longer come with plastic toys. These efforts have enabled McDonald’s to reduce the use of virgin plastic, made from fossil fuels, by 30% since 2018, the company said. It is now targeting a 90% reduction by 2025, compared to 2018.
The announcement follows Burger King’s 2019 pledge to phase out non-biodegradable plastic toys around the world by the end of 2025.
When asked at a press briefing if the pledges were made in response to consumer backlash, including in the UK petition, Jenny McColloch, director of sustainability at McDonald’s, noted that some changes were made before 2019.
“We’ve been innovating in our toys for quite some time,” she said, adding that in some cases the company “started to introduce some of these more sustainable materials” as early as 2018. “That said, we still are. listening to our customers and our families, and understanding where we can do better, ”she added.
McDonald’s also said in the briefing that the transition to new materials is a massive undertaking and that it sells over a billion toys each year. The new toys will not cost franchisees more than the old ones.
Large companies, including Burger King and McDonald’s, are also responding to customer concerns about plastic waste by testing reusable packaging in certain markets. McDonald’s has set a goal in 2018 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its offices and restaurants by 36% between 2015 and 2030.
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