Big problem facing the new McDonald’s eco-friendly straws

In a move towards a more “eco-friendly” business, McDonald’s ditched plastic straws for paper ones in Europe — but there’s a hitch.

McDonald’s restaurants in Europe are now serving paper straws to customers to avoid using plastic — but those paper straws are unable to be recycled.

The fast-food chain announced plans last year to switch from plastic to paper straws in the UK and Ireland by 2019.

The move was part of the company’s goal to source 100 per cent of its food packaging from “renewable, recycled or certified sources by 2025” as well as a plan to have packaging recycling in all restaurants around the world.

The move from plastic to paper has been far from smooth sailing. Picture: Twitter/murraywebber

But according to a McDonald’s spokesman, the new paper straws are not able to be recycled due to problems with waste processing.

“We have moved quickly to paper straws, balancing the more positive impact they have on the environment with finding a straw which meets customer expectations,” the spokesman said.

“While the materials the straws are made from are recyclable, they cannot currently be processed by waste solution providers and local authorities unless they are collected separately.”

The spokesman said the problem wasn’t the fault of McDonald’s but rather a “wider industry issue”.

“The infrastructure needed to recycle has not kept pace with the emergence of paper straws,” he said.

The spokesman told News Corp that McDonald’s was working with local waste management providers across Europe to “find a sustainable solution, as we did with paper cups”.

As a result, the fast-food chain has had to ask customers to dump their paper straws in general waste bins, along with other rubbish, rather than recycling bins.

Critics say this has effectively made the “eco-friendly” straws as redundant as their plastic predecessors.

“The advice to put paper straws in general waste is therefore temporary,” the company said in a statement.

“This waste from our restaurants does not go to landfill but is used to generate energy.”

McDonald’s former plastic straws were also recyclable but faced the same issue, according to the spokesman.

People aren't happy about the non-recyclable paper straws. Picture: Twitter/gian

Many cities and countries have announced plans to phase out plastic straw usage in the hope of addressing the world’s plastic pollution problem.

Scientists said in spring 2018, nearly 7.5 million plastic straws were found along the shorelines of the US.

The same study predicted that somewhere between 437 million and 8.3 billion plastic straws are currently lying along the planet’s coastlines.

UK McDonald’s CEO Paul Pomroy said last year that “together with our customers we can do our bit for the environment and use fewer straws”.

McDonald's is facing some serious questions about their so called 'eco-friendly' straws.

The debate around plastic usage, particularly straws, heated up in 2015 following the release of a graphic and bloody video in which conservationists removed a plastic straw from the nose of a sea turtle.

McDonald’s, which also announced last year plans for plastic alternatives to be tested in the US, France, Sweden, Norway and Australia, said it would continue to look into where paper straws can be innovated.

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission