Why major fast food outlets are ditching plastic toys
The National Resources Defense Council has it that spontaneous plastic usage is the biggest offender in world waste production. In addition, plastic products such as toy wrappers, bags, and straws are hard to recycle. As such, they contribute to about 90 % of waste that ends up in the landfill.
Additionally, plastics do not decompose. Instead, they break to form micro-plastics, and these are consumed by animals unknowingly. Eventually, they end up in our bodies indirectly and cause health issues such as punctured organs. And in wildlife, they block their intestines and even lead to death.
The reason behind the decline of plastic toys in fast-food restaurants
In order to combat the aforementioned crisis and its impact on the environment, two young girls, Ella, aged nine, and Caitlin McEwan, aged seven, from Hampshire, England, started a change.org petition.
However, it was focused on fast food industries to specifically addressing their plastic toys packaged with children’s meals. The girls stated that Children pay with the plastic toys for minutes before they ditch them to harm animals and pollute the sea. Instead, they recommended that giveaways should be manufactured from sustainable resources.
Fortunately, the petition was warmly embraced, with more than 500,000 signings online. This caused fast foods such as burger king and Mcdonald’s to consider the impact they make on the environment with their kid plastic toys in meals. It was then estimated that they could abate 320 metric tons of single-use plastic usage per year by cutting kids’ plastic toys in foods.
Also, fast-food restaurants are encouraging consumers to bring old toys to be melted. To an extent, Mcdonald’s gives customers an option to swap a toy with a fruit or a book.
On the other hand, their rival’s burger king affirmed that it had no intentions of stripping kids their already given toys. Instead, they decide to give consumers an option to swap their toys with a sachet of fruits should they wish to do so.
What amounts of plastics end up in the landfill
Nearly every day, thousands of people put plastic bottles, toys, or plastic boxes in the trash bin, believing they are helping the environment. However, something we might not realize is that the vast majority of plastics are never reused. Instead, they end up in landfills or incineration plants.
Only 57 percent of the 30 billion plastic containers used by UK homes every year are recycled, while the other half goes to landfills or gets thrown away. As a result, every day, around 1 million plastic bottles and toys are littered.
This is primarily due to the non-recyclable nature of plastic wrapping on bottles and toys. In addition, per year, the United Kingdom discards 2.5 billion’ paper’ cups and 500 each minute.
Benefits of cutting of plastic toys in the fast-food industry
Less plastic disposal will save lives
Have you ever considered sautéing a plastic toy and eating it with excellent caramelized onion potatoes as a side dish? Neither do us. However, humans consume plastic as it degrades the environment to become micro-plastics.
Every one of us might be eating about 39,000 and 74,000 micro-plastics each year, as per the journal Environmental Science and Technology research. According to ABC News in Australia, the estimated number of particles is 104,000, the equivalent of chewing a credit card every week.
Further, the chemicals that leach from plastic toys can cause an appalling number of health concerns such as cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and neuro degenerative diseases. Therefore, cutting the number of plastics we recycle will save lives.
Zero plastic toys will contribute to clean water
Plastic that does not wind up in the ocean is generally disposed of in landfills. Just as every plastics, toxic chemical leach from toys and seep into the groundwater.
And by the natural water cycle, it enters to earth’s natural water. From the water, these chemicals end up in the soils used to culture foods and the water we drink, bathe in, and swim in.
Zero plastic toys equal to safe foods
The majority of our food is grown on soil and water, and when more significant amounts of plastic chemicals seep into them, they inevitably end up in our foodstuff. It doesn’t count if the food is naturally produced or GM-free. It’s all cultivated with the help of the earth’s groundwater which is now tainted with harmful TOY chemicals.
Zero plastic equals less CO2
With global WARMING steadily increasing and climate experts pleading with policymakers to find a standard solution, lowering carbon dioxide emissions is critical. Unfortunately, plastics are made chiefly from non-renewable fossil fuels such as oil, accounting for around 4% of global petroleum use.
This emits an enormous quantity of carbon dioxide, increases the greenhouse effect, and heats our world.
If you’re lowering the demand for throwaway plastic by reducing your usage, the manufacturer is less likely to keep manufacturing it. So, if we want significant businesses to create less plastic in our capitalist system, one of the most excellent methods is to cease buying their plastic items.
Global warming is the problem of our generation, and while we may not be able to change state policy, we can strike with our wallets not only to reduce plastic toys but plastics in general.
Summary – Why major fast food outlets are ditching plastic toys
Plastic is an example of how humans have a propensity for developing things that make life simpler. Its remarkable strength, durability, and lightness make it perfect for a wide range of goods, including everything from basic food and beverages. Again, the fast-food industry had a better way to save your time searching for kids’ toys.
However, our insatiable need for progress may lead us wrong, and every newfangled item we develop has ramifications. For example, recyclable plastic has been found worldwide, proving to be an ecological calamity. By 2050, there will likely be one kilo of plastic for every kilo of fish.
Humanity has no idea how to deal with excess amounts of plastic produced in modern economies and avoiding it is impossible due to the material’s entrenchment in our lifestyles.
Although we won’t entirely avoid using throwaway plastic, we can cut down on how much we use by becoming more aware of our consumption and knowing how it works. And that starts by cutting plastic toys from fast food industries, ladies and gentlemen.
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