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McDonald’s starts phasing out plastic toys from Happy Meals

A cardboard McDonald’s Happy Meal toy is shown with a Happy Meal box on Sept. 20, 2021. McDonald’s plans to “drastically” reduce the plastic in its Happy Meal toys worldwide by 2025. The burger giant said Tuesday, Sept. 21 it’s working with toy companies to develop new ideas, such as three-dimensional cardboard superheroes kids can build or board games with plant-based or recycled game pieces. (AP Photo/Dee-Ann Durbin)

(AP) — McDonald’s plans to “drastically” reduce the plastic in its Happy Meal toys worldwide by 2025.

The company, which sells more than 1 billion toys each year, says the new goal will reduce its use of virgin plastic by 90%.

The burger giant said Tuesday it’s working with toy companies to develop new ideas, such as three-dimensional cardboard superheroes kids can build. McDonald’s said it’s also exploring using recycled plastic toys to make new restaurant trays.

The company already made the change in the U.K. and Ireland, where it only sells soft toys or books in its Happy Meals.