The days of sipping your milkshake through a plastic straw at McDonald's are almost over -- at least in the UK and Ireland.
The fast food giant announced on Thursday that they'll be making the switch to paper straws in September this year.
SEE ALSO:These people are giving up plastic for Lent and it's all because of 'Blue Planet II'The decision comes in the wake of the UK government announcing plans to ban the sale of plastic straws, and other single-use plastic items, as part of an effort to reduce waste and help the environment.
“Reflecting the broader public debate, our customers told us they wanted to see a move on straws but to do so without compromising their overall experience when visiting our restaurants," said McDonald's UK and Ireland CEO Paul Pomroy. "Over the past few months we’ve been working closely with supplier partners to find a solution that works both for our customers, and that the supply is there given the size of our business.
"The Government’s ambitious plans, combined with strong customer opinion, has helped to accelerate the move away from plastic and I’m proud that we’ve been able to play our part in helping to achieve this societal change.”
The full switch to paper straws will only be taking place in the UK and Ireland for now, but McDonald's confirmed testing of alternatives has already begun in Belgium, and will begin later this year in the US, France, Sweden and Norway.
The restaurant is also planning to test making straws available on request only in countries like Malaysia.
(责任编辑：焦點)
Two astronauts just installed a new parking spot on the International Space StationUnited finally issues an apology that sounds like an apologyUber is now totally banned in all of ItalyNewspaper succinctly trolls Trump's new pick for country ambassadorAirbnb activates disaster response site for Louisiana floodingOver 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California
A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California's Cajon Pass has grown in hot, dry weather, thre
...[详细]Train ticket officer's savage shut down of a racist passenger is pure gold
Unfortunately, racist outbursts on public transportation aren't uncommon. Thankfully, there are cour
...[详细]Man kicked out of city council meeting for trying to recreate Kendall Jenner's Pepsi ad
After Kendall Jenner's now-infamous Pepsi ad was memed to hell on Twitter, we really should have exp
...[详细]Extremely happy elephant is super excited to meet the Queen
For most fans of the royal family, meeting the Queen would make their lives complete. But today an e
...[详细]This 'sh*tpost' bot makes terrible memes so you don't have to
The internet is awash in trashy memes just waiting for your late-night retweet spree. Why waste prec
...[详细]The Purge is cancelled: Hackers unleash sirens of doom on Dallas
When it finally happens, the end of the world will likely begin like this: with wailing sirens teari
...[详细]Money saving tips from Randi Zuckerberg, Mark Cuban and more
April is Financial Literacy Month, and the Council for Economic Education has engaged 28 entrepreneu
...[详细]Rogue deer tackles innocent man in a parking lot
Out of all of the animals in the world, deers may be the biggest jerks of them all.
。Sure, there are
...[详细]U.S. government issues warning on McDonald's recalled wearable devices
Last week's McDonald's debacle, which saw the fast food giant forced to recall its first wearable tr
...[详细]Completely understandable reasons why Trump and I both won't release our tax returns
President Trump has resisted extraordinary pressure to release his tax returns, and as someone who s
...[详细]Olympics official on Rio's green diving pool: 'Chemistry is not an exact science'
Twitter is gloriously roasting the ridiculous premise of House Hunters