Minister calls on Mcdonald’s to ban toys in Happy Meals

MCDONALD’S must ban plastic toys in children’s Happy Meals, the environment minister has said, as she called for companies to make “symbolic changes” to show they are cutting down on single-use plastics.

During a panel discussion on plastic waste at the Conservative Party conference, Therese Coffey said: “I desperately want Mcdonald’s to give up their Happy Meal toys and change them to be all about what can you do on your ipad or smart phone, rather than a piece of plastic that lasts for about five minutes and then takes five centuries to degrade.”

Meanwhile, Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, announced a new £15 million scheme allowing food waste to be redistributed by charities, including to the homeless.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Gove said up to 250million extra meals a year would be put on the tables and plates of “the most deserving in our society”.

In addition, a plastic tax will soon be introduced to curb the use of non-recyclable plastic items.