McDonald's Is Making This Big Change to Happy Meals
McDonald's latest Happy Meal enhancement has nothing to do with food. The chain
announced that by 2025, Happy Meal toys will be different from those given since summer 1979.
McDonald's aims to "drastically" reduce Happy Meal toys' plastic, per Associated Press. The company is developing toys with alternative
materials with toy producers to cut "virgin" plastic use by 90%. A billion McDonald's Happy Meal toys are distributed annually. In the future,
cardboard, plant-based materials, and recycled plastics will be used. In toy production, the company will use safer, more sustainable plant-based dyes.
These changes will follow the chain's international efforts. McDonald's Happy Meals in the UK include plush and paper toys or books, aligning
with the company's US sustainability goals. McDonald's is currently making in-store eating trays from recycled plastics.
This year, the company declared it will remove PFAS from food packaging. Human and environmental health are threatened by these
substances. The corporation is supposed to eliminate them from all McDonald's packaging by 2025, but many health experts want it to happen sooner.