The change comes after a successful trial by McDonald’s in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.
McDonald’s are to replace their plastic straws with paper in September of this year, following a successful trial in both Ireland and the UK.
The rollout will take place in all 1,361 restaurants in the two countries.
McDonald’s will use two companies to meet their needs, according to RTÉ – Huhtamaki, which has a production plant in Belfast, and Welsh start-up Transcend Packaging.
The fast food giants have been testing paper straws since April at a selected number of outlets, and the move comes as companies come under increasing demand to reduce the amount of single-use plastic they use on a daily basis.
Paul Pomroy, chief executive of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, said: “Reflecting the broader public debate, our customers told us they wanted to see a move on straws but to do so without compromising their overall experience when visiting our restaurants.
“Over the past few months we’ve been working closely with supplier partners to find a solution that works both for our customers, and that the supply is there given the size of our business.
“The [British] government’s ambitious plans, combined with strong customer opinion, has helped to accelerate the move away from plastic and I’m proud that we’ve been able to play our part in helping to achieve this societal change.”
A number of other companies have made the move to paper straws in recent times, including Burger King, Costa Coffee, Wagamama and pub chain JD Wetherspoon, all of whom operate in Ireland.
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