McDonald’s Is Running Tests To Ditch Plastic Straws Forever

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There are all sorts of ways we can be more eco-friendly, but straws — that wasteful and completely unnecessary drinking apparatus, are serious low hanging fruit. Lately, cities like Seattle and Berkeley are working on banning plastic drinking straws in favor of biodegradable options. McDonalds is taking it one step further, with a broad test getting rid of plastic drinking straws across an entire country.

As Buzzfeed reports, the pilot will be conducted in Britain, doing away with plastic straws in favor of biodegradable ones. It’ll also start keeping straws behind the counter and making them available on a request basis only, instead of giant bins of straws just sitting out. It’s worth remembering there’s been some intense debate in the UK over straws, as disability advocates have pointed out they’re a necessary tool for accessibility or even, in some cases, survival.

That said, it seems likely that more and more, straws will be reserved for people who really need them, or people who bring their own. We go through 500 million plastic straws a day, and those straws are piling up fast. And, if we’re being business-minded here, we doubt the millions of straws Mickey D’s provides every day show up for free to their many outlets, so it’s not just the environment they view this particular project as saving.

Don’t be surprised if other fast food chains follow suit, as they look to make their reputation a little more green.

(via Buzzfeed)

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