McDonald's customers are campaigning for the company to bring back plastic straws

McDonalds move to be more environmentally friendly has been met with mixed responses (Photo: Getty Images)

Environmental issues are a growing concern thanks to the likes of climate change, global warming and pollution - but some McDonald’s customers have taken a dislike to the company’s attempt to reduce its harmful environmental impact.

What’s wrong?

A petition called ‘Bring Back McDonald's Straws’ has gained more than 30,000 signatures as customers brand the new paper straws as “useless”.

The fast food company is currently in the process of replacing its plastic straws with the eco friendly alternative for all 1,361 restaurants across the UK and Ireland.

Companies across the globe are looking to reduce how they affect the environment, from Starbucks aiming to be straw free by 2020 to two thirds of Nike's footwear being made from recycled materials.

McDonald’s says it has had positive feedback after the move from plastic to paper straws.

Why don’t people like them?

However, it would seem the change has not gone down well with many customers who claim that the straws are “flimsy” and that, “they dissolve in your juice after 5 mins and it’s just disgusting.”

Under the “why is this important” header of the petition, the angry McDonald’s customer simply wrote, “So I can drink my milkshake proper.”

This echoes the disappointment of another milkshake drinker, who wrote that they had so much difficulty with a paper straw that they “ended up getting one of [their] own plastic straws at home."

Does anyone like them?

While McDonald’s has received some frustrated feedback, other customers have defended the decision to swap plastic for paper.

Keen to remind people why the change was implemented in the first place, tweeters have called out those complaining saying, “Educate yourselves on what’s happening to our planet and buy yourselves a reusable straw if you hate paper ones so much.”

Others also praised the new straws, stating that they’re “quite impressed” to have made the decision to ditch the plastic.

Other petitions calling for McDonald’s to get rid of plastic straws have reached more than 80,000 signatures.