(Updated 5:04 p.m.) Have you seen or bought drinks with new lids lately?
Popular fast food chain McDonald’s Philippines introduced these strawless lids in select stores in Metro Manila as part of its bid to help reduce waste by minimizing the need of consumers for straws.
Starting this June, McDonald’s replaced the flat lids of some of its iced beverages with the new strawless lid, a lid with a small cross-section that allows sipping or drinking.
All iced beverages which include variants of its iced coffee, iced tea and soft drinks are included in this shift in packaging. They will also be available when you order for take-out, drive-thru and delivery.
In a statement, Adi Hernandez, corporate communications head of McDonald’s Philippines said that this gradual change in their packaging will help them reduce waste and still ensure quality services to their customers.
“By testing these strawless lids, we aim to continue our journey to reduce waste. Through this change, we will be able make strides in our waste reduction strategy, while ensuring that our consumers are able to enjoy their iced cold drinks along with their favorite McDonald’s meals, one less straw at a time,” Hernandez said.
“We look forward to our customers’ positive response to this initiative and rolling this out to more stores in the country in the coming months,” she added.
The restaurant chain initiated its shift in doing away with straws as early as 2018 after it limited the distribution of straws to some of its drinks, namely the McFloat, Coffee Float, Milk Tea and McFreeze.
Last year, coffee giant Starbucks also started phasing out its plastic straws and replacing their packaging with their own recyclable, strawless lids.
Its strawless lid which is made of polypropylene meets the design guidelines of the US-based Association of Plastic Recyclers for markets in the United States and Canada.