Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition demanding McDonald’s in the United Kingdom 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 company 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.”
{mosads}As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 36,000 people had signed the petition. Reed is seeking 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 less than a week ago, prompting the site’s creators to issue a note on the bottom of the petition directing users to a competing petition urging fast food companies to ban plastic straws altogether.
“This petition has been started by a member of the public and not 38 Degrees. Single use ‘throw away’ plastic items like straws, cups and bottles have a huge impact on our environment, they clog up our oceans and polluting our countryside,” reads the note from 38 Degrees.
McDonald’s rolled out the paper products in all 1,361 stores in the U.K. and Ireland in September, and began 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.