Burger King has announced a major change to its packaging that will affect every store across the UK in a move to become a more eco-friendly brand.
The fast-food chain has said it will be cutting back on its single-use plastic waste by ditching the lids from soft drinks with immediate effect. It is anticipated the move will remove a whopping 17 million plastic lids from circulation, saving more than 30,000kg of plastic every year, reports WalesOnline.
The move makes up part of Burger King's commitment to becoming a more sustainable brand by phasing out its reliance on single-use plastic in all UK branches by the end of 2025. The pledge has previously seen the burger chain make the ground-breaking step of removing all plastic and non-biodegradable toys from their King Jr Meals in 2019.
Spokesperson Katie Evans said : “We’re excited to be introducing this permanent removal of plastic lids in restaurant, ultimately reducing single-use plastics. Our Meltdown campaign in 2019, removing plastic toys from King Jr Meals, was the first significant step on our journey and this next step will take us closer to reaching our target of removing all single-use plastic by 2025.”
So, when customers order a soft drink to dine in at a Burger King, it will no longer come with a plastic lid on the cup. According to a statement from the company: "While spilling a drink is annoying, it’s not the end of the world… but single-use plastic could be."
Burger King joins a host of fast-food companies and retailers that are beginning to gradually move away from single-use plastics in their stores.
McDonald's recently announced this year it would be trialling plastic cups that have been sourced from post-consumer plastic and bio-based materials such as used cooking oil in certain countries.
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