It is set to stop using plastic straws – which can enter the oceans and harm marine life – in all of its food shops across the world by 2020 , replacing them with straws made from alternative materials , or lids that do not require straws . Earlier this month , a ban on single - use plastic straws and utensils in food outlets came into effect in Seattle , where Starbucks is based . Straws add up to only about 2,000 tons of the nearly 9m tons of plastic waste that hits waters each year. Other US cities , including New York and San Francisco , are believed to be considering similar bans . McDonald has recently committed to using paper straws in the UK and Ireland by 2019 .
It is set to stop using plastic straws – which can enter the oceans and harm marine life – in all of its food shops across the world by 2020 , replacing them with straws made from alternative materials , or lids that do not require straws . Earlier this month , a ban on single - use plastic straws and utensils in food outlets came into effect in Seattle , where Starbucks is based . Other US cities , including New York and San Francisco , are believed to be considering similar bans . McDonald has recently committed to using paper straws in the UK and Ireland by 2019 .