In September 2018, McDonald’s replaced recycled plastic straws with paper straws in all restaurants in the UK and Ireland to raise environmental awareness. plastic recycling machine

Recently, McDonald’s defended its “green” paper straws. A McDonald’s spokesman said on Monday: “Although these materials are recyclable, their current thickness makes it difficult for our waste suppliers to handle them. They also helped us recycle paper cups. We are working with them to find a solution, so the suggestion to throw paper straws into general trash is temporary.”

It is understood that the reason why McDonald’s paper straw can not be recycled is that the infrastructure can not keep up with the pace of innovation, the paper straw can not be recycled at the current processing level, and the plastic straw used by McDonald’s can be recycled. of.

Previously, many social media users complained that McDonald’s environmentally friendly paper straws would “dissolve” in beverages. The petition requesting the company to switch back to plastic straws has received more than 50,000 signatures.

In order to better protect the environment, the original intention of using paper straws is good, but it can not be recycled and can only be incinerated, which has a certain impact on the environment. At present, the new degradable environmental protection straw made of polylactic acid is gradually It has entered the people’s field of vision. Because it is made of starch-based materials, it is not only low-carbon energy-saving, green and environmentally friendly. It can be decomposed into water and carbon dioxide under composting conditions for 45 days. It can be said that it is derived from nature, attributed to nature, perhaps McDonald’s adopted Similar bio-degradable plastic straws are also a good choice.