Thousands sign petition to bring back McDonald’s plastic straws in U.K.

Tens of thousands of consumers in the U.K. have signed a petition demanding that McDonald’s bring back plastic straws, after many said the more eco-friendly paper alternatives dissolved in patrons’ drinks.

A petition on the survey site 38 Degrees urges the restaurant chain to return to plastic straws, with the petition’s creator, Martin Reed, writing that he wants the change so he “can drink my milkshake proper.”

As of April 25, more than 38,000 people had signed the petition. The website’s goal is to get 40,000 signatures. Many commenters called the environmentally friendly straws a bad idea.

“The straws are not working for drinking, they should consider bio degradable plastic straws made from natural products. It is doable. I personally hate the paper straws as they leave a weird film on my teeth,” wrote one commenter.

“Absolutely useless, they get soggy and end up giving off a cardboard taste to the drink you have, no point in having a paper straw with a plastic lid, much rather have a paper lid and a plastic straw,” wrote another.

The petition has surged in popularity since it was created eight days ago – on the first day it received only 10 signatures, and in less than two days jumped from 5,000 to 20,000.

McDonald’s began using paper straws in all 1,361 stores in the U.K. and Ireland in September 2018, and has recently begun testing paper alternatives to plastic straws in some U.S. stores. The U.K. last year became the first country to propose a nationwide ban on single-use plastic straws and similar products.

In Canada, A&W replaced all plastic straws with paper straws in all of its restaurants as of January 2019.