BURGER King has announced that plastic toys will no longer be included in kids’ meals as it aims to improve its wider sustainability practices.
The fast food chain will also install plastic toy amnesty bins in all of its UK restaurants, with customers being encouraged to drop off old kids’ meal toys in the bins to be transformed into new Burger King play areas and interactive trays. The scheme has been dubbed the Meltdown.
Katie Evans, marketing director at Burger King UK, said, “It is impossible to ignore the growing problem excessive plastic waste is causing and we are glad to be taking action. At Burger King we know we can positively contribute to finding new, more sustainable solutions, long term.
“We’re inviting customers to donate their unwanted plastic toys and working with Pentatonic, we’re excited to give them a fresh start. We recognised that by replacing them with a more sustainable solution there was an opportunity for us to make a radical change with Meltdown– one of the first of many.”
Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer at Burger King, added,“We are a global brand, and the UK market will be leading the way in making this first step towards change, which is part of our wider commitment on reducing plastics. Work is currently underway across all of our markets to look at how we can completely move away from non bio-degradable plastic toys by 2025.”
Jamie Hall, founder & CMO of Pentatonic commented, “Project Meltdown is a giant leap for the food and beverage industry in terms of its waste culture. True impact is only achievable through action, not words. Burger King UK is not making a vague gesture, which is so often the case in this sector, instead they are taking significant action. Burger King UK has listened to their audience and is responding in an emphatic way and we are delighted to provide the design and manufacturing technologies to make their bold vision a reality.”
Burger King say that they estimate the move will save 320 tonnes of single use plastic annually. Those who dispose of toys between 19th – 30th September will receive a free kids’ meal with the purchase of an adult meal.
