Straws are to be unavailable at the McDonald’s outlet on Jiuzong Road in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) from today amid growing awareness of a need to cut waste, the company announced yesterday.
The fast-food chain said it plans to implement the no-straw policy at 75 outlets in Taipei by April 22 — Earth Day — and extend it to the chain’s nearly 400 stores nationwide by the end of June.
McDonald’s plans to introduce a new lid that would allow people to sip cold drinks without a straw, the company said in a press release.
The move is not only aimed at reducing the use of plastic straws and changing consumer behavior, but also to gradually decrease resources used to make and transport plastic straws, easing the burden on the environment, McDonald’s said.
The fast-food chain’s announcement came as the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in July is to ban single-use plastic straws at restaurants in government agencies, public and private schools, public hospitals, department stores and shopping malls, as well as fast-food chains, as part of an effort to protect the environment.
EPA Deputy Minister Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) praised McDonald’s, saying that the company has made valuable contributions to helping the environment and encouraging people to work together to reduce plastic waste.
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