A guilty pleasure at McDonald's will soon be less guilt-inducing with the introduction of new sustainable packaging.
According to the EconoTimes, September will see the rollout of new McFlurry packaging in the United States, with the plastic lids ditched in favor of a four-flap design.
The fast-food outlet is also launching a mini version of the McFlurry to cater to those with smaller appetites, which should help to reduce food waste — a notable problem in the United States, with 92 billion tons of food thrown out every year, as Feeding America observed.
Fast Food Club pointed out that the global burger giant is looking to have packaging made from environmentally safe materials by 2025, and this latest announcement will help in that goal.
This is certainly good news in efforts to reduce single-use plastic pollution, but critics will point to McDonald's wider polluting impact as a reason not to get too excited.
A Guardian report from 2021 pointed out that the company's need for meat comes at a huge polluting cost, with the 58.4 million tons of planet-warming gases from its meat supply chain exceeding the pollution produced by several European nations.
Cattle gas pollution is a huge problem when it comes to rising global temperatures, as cows are notable producers of methane gas, which is much more potent than carbon dioxide in warming potential. According to the European Union, it is 84 times more potent over a 20-year timescale.
This emphasizes one of the reasons why it's important to incorporate more plant-based meals into your diet. Cutting demand from the meat industry will help reduce the number of cows required to satisfy global burger cravings, helping to limit the harmful planet-warming pollution created by this area of agriculture.
While still far from perfect, the switch from single-use plastic lids to incorporated flaps on packaging is at least a positive move for McDonald's. It's an example of a big business making a responsible change, and supporting those changes is important to demonstrate consumer appetite exists for more mindful actions regarding waste and pollution.
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