McDonald’s Corp may have found a renewable replacement material for its polystyrene foam beverage cups.
According to a press release, about 2,000 McDonald’s chain stores, mostly on the west coast of the United States, will take the lead in trying out a double fiber hot drink cup, hoping to phase out polystyrene foam cups that usually end up in a landfill.
The replacement of new materials is the response of McDonald’s to a shareholder resolution proposed by AsYouSow in 2011. AsYouSow is a non-profit organization that promotes the corporate environment and social responsibility through shareholder petitions, alliances and legal countermeasures.
“This is the first step in McDonald’s,” AsYouSow’s senior project director, Conrad Mac Kerron, said in a statement. “We hope it will lead McDonald’s to replace the paper cup permanently in all the chain stores.”
McDonald’s began to abandon polystyrene foam as early as year 1990, when the first thing to stop was the burger box. But then McDonald’s did not stop using polystyrene foam cups.
Admittedly, replacing polystyrene foam cups is a way to reduce polystyrene pollution. But it is not a permanent solution, recycling polystyrene foam cups is the most effective way to save resources.
The waste polystyrene foam cups can be recycled with a polystyrene compactor, the machine can turn the waste material into EPS block to sold or make beautiful picture frames.
Polystyrene recycling can completely save resources, reduce the waste of resources and create more economic benefits. So when drink coffee, do not forget to recycle the cup.