We’ve all seen a McDonald’s cup on the side of the road. It’s a sad contradiction to the adorable symbol of the infamous Ronald McDonald throwing his meal in the trash that has graced the cups, bags, and containers that hold the world’s most popular fast food. While the decision to litter was the action of an individual, the choice of whether the cup will decompose or remain is up to McDonald’s.

Within the past year or so, McDonald’s changed their paper fountain drink cups to full plastic cups. The design change was seemingly an effort to be more visually appealing, fitting the “McCafé” aesthetic they’ve slowly been implementing over the years. The decision seems rather odd, considering the pressing issues regarding the environment, specifically our use of plastic. The specific type of plastic used is Plastic Polypropylene number 5, or PP5. While this plastic is recyclable, less than 3% of Plastic Polypropylene 5 is actually recycled properly, according to an article from yesstraws.com from 2020. This is because only some factories recycle PP5. 

According to the corporate website for McDonald’s the motive for changing the cups is as follows:

“Our goal is to streamline material types and design packaging so that it's easier for customers to recycle. Increase the amount of recycled plastic content used in all parts of our restaurants, where possible, to help drive demand for plastic recycling.”

While this sounds like a reasonable explanation, it completely disregards the fact that plastic is still a more dangerous choice. Recycled plastic is still plastic. It’s important for big corporations like McDonald’s to make efforts to reduce plastic waste, as their influence could inspire other chain restaurants—like Taco Bell or Panera—to change their cups too. Big businesses are responsible for a majority of the pollution and waste on Earth. Burning and littering plastic contributes to the ongoing crises of our deteriorating ozone layer and the destruction of our oceans and marine life. We must hold them to a standard that will prevent or at least slow the irreversible damage of climate change. 

I propose that McDonald’s go back to their previous cup design (a sturdy type of paper cup), or create a new cup that is biodegradable. Surely, we can all agree that our land, our oceans, our planet is more important than any aesthetic or branding image.