KFC has served its last straw, as the fried chicken chain looks to adopt an environmentally friendly policy at its Singapore locations.
Beginning tomorrow, all 84 of KFC’s fast-food outlets will no longer include plastic lids and straws with drinks for dine-in customers in the hopes of reducing plastic waste, Channel NewsAsia reports. Plastic lids will still be available for takeaway drinks, though.
The transition is part of their “No Straws Initiative,” which aims to cut down on 17.8 metric tonnes of single-use plastics in a year, according to a company press release. “We recognize that every little bit counts and are proud to be the first fast food restaurant in Singapore to champion this movement, one straw at a time,” stated Lynette Lee, general manager at Kentucky Fried Chicken Management.
(Side note: KFC relaunched their mac and cheese popcorn chicken bowl and it looks pretty dank).
KFC’s move is part of an environmentally-friendly trend that is gaining traction both in Singapore and globally. The Straits Times reported in May that Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) properties in Singapore had pledged to phase out disposable plastic straws and cutlery by next June.
Local grassroots initiatives such as Straw-Free Singapore seem to be working. They aim to both encourage businesses to quit straws and increase consumer awareness of the environmental damage they do to land and oceans.
But while more and more Singapore companies are giving up straws and other plastics voluntarily, but some would like to see the government do more. An open letter signed by ten environmental NGOs in April, says that governmental regulations such as mandating a small tax for plastic shopping bags, recycling plastics, and cutting down on plastic straws can have an impact for years to come.
Even so, the perpetual usage of disposable plastic bags is here to stay in Singapore, according to lawmakers who don’t believe that introducing levies on them will help the environment.
