After Hong Kong "went plastic", McDonald's switched to paper covers!

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This year's Earth Day may be a special day for the people of Hong Kong, because from today, Hong Kong begins to "take shape" (that is, to drive products such as disposable plastic tableware out of life).

Laws governing disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products have been implemented in Hong Kong since April 22, Chinanews.com reported. Among them, the new law stipulates that the catering industry will prohibit the sale or provision of styrofoam tableware, plastic beverage straws, mixing sticks, knives, forks and spoons and plastic plates to takeaway customers from the 22nd.

(photo taken from Sing Tao Guangdong-Hong Kong Link)

McDonald's, as a chain enterprise, is naturally also the corresponding government policy, which begins to "shape". Starting from the 22nd, both hot and cold drinks in the store will switch to paper packing cups and paper cup lids. If consumers need straws, the store will provide paper straws. In order to adapt to the shop assistants and consumers, some stores have already implemented "walking plastic" before the 22nd, and the packing materials have been changed in advance.

Consumers who have experienced paper packaging materials are uncomfortable with this change, and the most common complaint is the "paper smell" on these paper materials. Many people react that when the liquid comes into contact with these paper packaging materials for a long time, the drink will take on a strange taste, which is difficult to swallow. Even if you choose to eat in a restaurant, you will smell the smell of paper materials when you get the drink that has just been made, damaging the mood of consumers.

In addition, consumers feedback that these paper packaging materials are not moisture-resistant or heat-resistant, which is very easy to leak after filling liquid. After the frozen drink is installed in a paper cup, the paper cup will come into contact with moisture inside and outside, and the paper cup will be soft over a long time. The sense of use is extremely bad, and the liquid will flow out from the joint gap.

In addition, after drinking for many times, the drinking mouth of the paper cup lid will soften due to repeated contact with liquid. If you use a paper straw instead, some consumers say that the straw will soften and cannot absorb small materials such as liquid and pearls.

In addition to consumers, McDonald's staff also have complaints about paper packing materials. Hot drinks and frozen drinks are switched to a unified paper cup, as soon as the lid of the cup can not be seen through, you can not recognize who is who.

Although McDonald's adopted a new marking method after switching to a paper cup lid, allowing the clerk to press the mark on the paper lid according to the regulations, it is still difficult to identify the type of drink after feedback, which has a certain impact on the production efficiency of the store, and the number of wrong drinks has also increased a lot.

According to the statistics of the Environmental Protection Department of the SAR Government in 2022, Hong Kong disposed of 227 tons of plastic and styrofoam tableware every day, more than 82000 tons a year. Therefore, in order to reduce the use of disposable plastic products and reduce the heavy burden on landfills, "walking plastic" is imperative.

However, considering that the catering industry may have a stock of plastic tableware, consumers also need to adapt to the current changes, so the "walk plastic" has a six-month adaptation period, so that merchants can use up the regulated plastic inventory as soon as possible. choose the right substitute for tableware. During this period, the EPD will mainly focus on publicity and education, and enforcement actions may be taken against commercial tenants who have not yet "taken shape" after the adaptation period.

Therefore, during the adaptation period, catering merchants can still use some plastic products as take-out packaging. After listening to customer feedback, some McDonald's restaurants replaced the take-out cup lid with the previous plastic cup lid to avoid liquid leakage. It's just that this brown cup lid may soon be replaced by a white paper lid.

Picture from: Internet

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