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McDonald's Happy Meals to transition to sustainable plastics, fibers by 2025

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September 21, 2021

McDonald's will offer more sustainable Happy Meal toys, according to a CNBC report, and the company pledges to reduce its plastic in Happy Meal toys offers by 2025.

The brand said it sells more than a billion Happy Meals a year and has set the goal to reduce fossil-fuel plastics by 90% within the next five years, during a press conference held Monday at its headquarters in Chicago.

"Transitioning to more renewable, recycled and certified materials for our Happy Meal toys will result in an approximately 90% reduction in virgin fossil fuel-based plastic use against a 2018 baseline," Jenny McColloch, McDonald's chief sustainability officer, said during the press conference. "For comparison, the average person uses more than 220 pounds of plastic annually, so this is equivalent to more than 650,000 individuals eliminating plastics from their lives each year."

McDonald's began selling the Happy Meals in 1979. More than 100 countries worldwide sell the children's meals at McDonald's locations.

Some toys will be made with plant-derived or recycled materials, according to CNBC. Others will be made as 3-D cutouts rather than plastic. McDonald's is also looking at switching its Happy Meals' plastic wrappings to plant-based or fiber packaging.