McDonald’s paper straws have been found to not be recyclable. Last year that fast food company stopped using plastic straws even though they were recyclable to be a part of a green drive.
McDonald’s have admitted that the new paper straws are not easy to recyclable and should be placed in general waste. The company said the materials are recyclable but the thickness of the straws makes them difficult to process.
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Many people have found the paper straws to not be practical and said they dissolved before a drink could be finished and were not good for milkshakes.
Their paper straws are manufactured by Transcend Packaging, based in Ebbw Vale, south Wales. Last year they started to be produced when the company removed plastic straws from its restaurants.
A McDonald’s spokesman said: “As a result of customer feedback, we have strengthened our paper straws, so while the materials are recyclable, their current thickness makes it difficult for them to be processed by our waste solution providers, who also help us recycle our paper cups.”
The company is trying to find a solution to the problem.
There is a petition for the fast food chain to bring back the plastic recyclable straws which has been signed by 51,000 people. McDonald’s uses 1.8 million straws a way in the UK so the move to paper was a big step top reducing single use plastic. Most single use plastics take hundreds of years to decompose if they are not recycled.
Stuart Foster of plastic recycling charity RECOUP said: “Everyone is switched on environmental discussions but the big firms need time to understand what they’re doing.”
