McDonald’s Canada is removing plastic cutlery*, stir sticks and straws by December 2021

Toronto, ON (October 7, 2021) – McDonald’s Canada today announced that it will introduce wooden cutlery*, wooden stir sticks and paper straws to its more than 1,400 restaurants across the country by December 2021. The removal of these single-use plastics* in its restaurants supports McDonald’s global commitment to source 100% of McDonald’s primary guest packaging** from renewable, recycled or certified sources.

“By being part of the Canadian fabric and serving close to three million guests every day across more than 1,400 restaurants, McDonald’s Canada is playing an important role in the ongoing reduction of single-use plastics in the country”, says Rob Dick, Supply Chain Officer, McDonald’s Canada. “By removing these single-use plastics in our restaurants, we show our ongoing commitment to minimize our environmental footprint and to help protect the planet for future generations. ”

Wooden stir sticks are currently being rolled out in restaurant with wooden cutlery* and paper straws to follow starting in October, with the “last plastic straw” expected to be used in December 2021.

Additional facts:

• By removing plastic cutlery*, stir sticks and straws from its restaurants, McDonald’s Canada will remove approximately 840 tons of plastics from the Canadian system annually.†
• In 2019, McDonald’s Canada introduced a 20 per cent smaller napkin in its restaurants, produced with 100 per cent recycled fibre, which eliminated more than 900 tons of paper from the Canadian system.
• To learn more about McDonald’s Global Commitments on Planet, click here.

*Excluding McFlurry® spoons.
†Average based on 2018-2020 data.
**Refers to products that are used to package guest food on premises at McDonald’s restaurants, including containers, cups, wraps, bags for food, drink carriers, napkins and Happy Meal boxes.

ABOUT McDonald’s Canada
In 1967, Canadians welcomed the first McDonald's restaurant to Richmond, British Columbia. Today, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited has become part of the Canadian fabric, serving close to three million guests every day. In both franchised and corporate-owned restaurants, nearly 100,000 people are employed from coast-to-coast, and more than 90 per cent of McDonald's 1,400 Canadian restaurants are locally owned and operated by independent franchisees. Of the almost $1 billion spent on food, more than 85 per cent is purchased from suppliers in Canada. For more information on McDonald's Canada, visit mcdonalds.ca.

Media requiring more information please contact:

 McDonald's Media Relations Line: media.relations@ca.mcd.com or 1-877-786-3342