McDonald's is phasing out the use of plastic straws at its 1,300 locations in the United Kingdom, according to Sky News.
Straws will only be available upon request, and restaurants also will start using paper straws in May.
"Straws are one of those things that people feel passionately about, and rightly so, and we're moving those straws behind the front counter. If you come into McDonald's going forward, you'll be asked if you want a straw," chief executive Paul Pomroy told Sky News. "The other thing we're looking to do is to move to recycled paper on the straws and biodegradable paper straws and that test, I'm really proud to say, will start next month."
Almost all the restaurant’s packaging is recyclable.
"We've been on a journey over the past 10 years with recycling, from taking out foam and polystyrene to where we are now -- with Big Mac 'clam' boxes that are made with recycled board," Pomroy said. "The only thing left for us to move forward on are the lids that go on to our cups. Those are complicated, but we're working with our suppliers to find a solution to that. We're really close, so we hope within the next year to be able to have a lid that's recyclable and serves the same purpose -- for hot and cold drinks."
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