How Banning Plastic Straws at McDonalds Could Help Save Our Oceans

Try as it might, McDonald’s has a major image problem. Despite the onslaught of happy, healthy customers in its adverts, the global fast food giant is viewed with scepticism when it comes to ethics. It remain associated with childhood obesity, dubious food sourcing practices and the sort of vicious corporate self-interest that led it to sue a group of volunteer local activists in north London for millions in a libel action back in the 1990s.

If and when McDonald’s gets serious about figuring out its approach to doing the right thing, it should turn its attention - amongst many other things - to the huge contribution the corporation makes to plastics pollution in the oceans. By switching to paper or cellulose straws, McDonald’s could kickstart a new, more responsible approach to plastics in the fast food industry.

Presently, McDonald’s uses millions of plastic straws a day. Once discarded, many are dumped in the ocean. There the light plastic causes environmental havoc: getting stuck in sea turtle’s nostrils, or lodged in the stomachs of young seabirds who eventually starve to death as a result. They also frequently end up in the human food chain, having been eaten by fish. Straws are part of a much larger problem: around eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in our seas every year. And each year, it is estimated that a million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die as a result.

If cellulose or paper straws don’t appeal to McDonald’s, there are a host of other alternative it could consider. Lids similar to the ones on takeaway coffee cups would remove the need for straws altogether. Allowing customers to bring their own drinks containers for refills would cut down waste - and costs - even further.

So far, McDonald’s has had a disappointing track record on tackling the impact of the waste the business produces. As recently as 2015, the corporation that supplies McDonald’s French fries in China was slapped with a record fine. But the public image it tries to project suggests there is an ambition to do better: the McDonald’s website has a whole page devoted to “sustainability”. The website explains, “everyday all around the globe, McDonald's is putting people, processes and practices into place to make sustainability the new normal – for our business, society and the world at large”. If McDonald’s is actually this dedicated to curbing pollution and saving the environment, it should not take long for it to adopt a new policy eliminating plastic straws from its supply chain.

McDonald’s is a huge player in its industry. The resources it has at its disposal makes it far easier for it to find alternative, greener suppliers and, as a result, lead the rest of the fast food sector in the right direction. McDonald’s has some track record of responding to its customers’ concerns, for example making menu changes to create healthier options due to public demand.

There are early signs that it may do the same in response to environmental concerns: in the last year, SumOfUs pressured McDonald’s, along with companies like Starbucks and KFC, to source all of its palm oil responsibly. By taking a lead on ending the use of plastic straws, McDonald’s has a chance to take a real stand on plastics pollution. If it does, there is no question its customers will notice.