Face of Nation : Burger King is removing all plastic toys from its children’s meals served in the UK from today. The fast food chain admits they were “spurred on” by two young sisters who set up a petition against the use of plastic toys in children’s meals.
The move will save them an estimated 320 tonnes of waste annually, and is part of their wider commitment to reduce its plastic. Ella McEwan, 9, and Caitlin McEwan, 7, created the Change.org petition to call on Burger King and McDonald’s after they learnt about the environment at school and the problem of plastic.
“It made us very sad to see how plastic harms wildlife and pollutes the ocean, and we want to change this,” their petition read. “We like to go to eat at Burger King and McDonald’s, but 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. “We want anything they give to us to be sustainable so we can protect the planet for us and for future generations,” they added.
The petition has 509,551 signatures, but they’re aiming for one million. A final message says: “It’s not enough to make recyclable plastic toys – big, rich companies shouldn’t be making toys out of plastic at all.” 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.”The burger chain is also installing amnesty bins in every one of its restaurants across the UK so that people can drop off any free plastic meal toys, including those given away with confectionery or within children’s magazines.
The plastic will be transformed into new play areas and restaurant items, including interactive trays.
