Burger King UK will no longer give away plastic toys in children’s meals in an aim to reduce plastic waste. This also comes after two sisters started a petition for them to remove the plastic toys from the meals.
The fast food chain says removing plastic toys will save an estimated 320 tonnes of waste annually. The plastic saved will be used to create new play areas and restaurant items including interactive trays.
Burger King said the decision was part of a wider commitment to reduce its use of plastic and was pushed to the idea by sisters Ella, nine, and Caitlin McEwan, seven, who started a petition against Burger King and McDonald’s to “think of the environment and stop giving plastic toys with their kids meals”.
The girls wrote: “Children only play with the plastic toys they give us for a few minutes before they get thrown away and harm animals and pollute the sea.”
Half a million people have signed the partition .
#BKMeltdown is here!
As of tomorrow we’ll be removing plastic toys from our junior meals across the UK. We are melting down plastic toys for good! pic.twitter.com/mW3R0lSl1d
— Burger King (@BurgerKingUK) September 18, 2019
Just before Burger King announced the change, McDonald’s said it had no plans to scrap its toys but instead the toys could be swapped for a fruit bag. McDonald’s plans to trial an option for parents to choose between a book or a toy, early next year.
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.”
Burger King will also be installing amnesty bins in all of its UK restaurants so people can drop off any free plastic meal toys.
Just bring in your unwanted plastic toys to our restaurants and we’ll recycle them into new ways to play! Show your toy at the counter between 19th September and the 30th September and you’ll get a free King Junior meal! #Meltdown #BKMeltdown
— Burger King (@BurgerKingUK) September 18, 2019
