Burger King® UK takes a stand against plastic toys

Burger King® UK takes a stand against plastic toys

Burger King® UK has launched a new initiative, Meltdown, as it takes a stand against plastic and removes all toys from its King Junior Meals, inviting the UK to donate their unwanted toys to BK® UK’s in-restaurant amnesty bins and turn them into something else.

The new BK Meltdown campaign logo.

The removal of all non-biodegradable plastic toys from Burger King® UK’s King Junior Meals across the UK is being claimed by the company as its first significant step in the brand’s commitment to improving sustainability practices across the entire business.

In partnership with Pentatonic, the circular economy company, Burger King® UK will be transforming all donated toys into future interactive play opportunities for families at Burger King® restaurants across the UK, saving an estimated 320 tonnes of single use plastic annually as part of a wider commitment on plastics reduction. Pentatonic will locally disassemble, separate and recycle the toys, creating new ways to play and in-restaurant tools which can be recycled.

The Home of the Whopper® is calling on the public to join it in the movement and do something with their old plastic toys. JKR has designed plastic toy amnesty bins to be installed in each of Burger King®’s 500+ restaurants across the UK, where people will be invited to drop off their giveaway/free meal toys and join the Meltdown. All free* toys will be accepted, even if they’re not from King Junior Meals, so everyone can get involved in making a positive impact. Those taking part in the Meltdown between 19th-30th September will receive a free kid’s meal with any purchase of an adult meal, as well as special edition sticker sheets, BK®crowns and Meltdown King Junior Meal boxes.

The campaign has been launched with a hero film featuring three melting characters: a jeep-driving bunny – Beep Beep; an oversized robot – Mr Hugglesworth; and a wind-up T-Rex – Roary. It brings the three characters to life, explaining Burger King UK’s motives behind launching Meltdown and the positive impact it hopes will bring to the environment and communities.

Katie Evans, marketing director at Burger King® UK, said: “It is impossible to ignore the growing problem excessive plastic waste is causing and we are glad to be taking action. At Burger King we know we can positively contribute to finding new, more sustainable solutions, long term.

“We recognised that by replacing plastic toys with a more sustainable solution there was an opportunity for us to make a radical change with Meltdown – one of the first of many. This is a major step we are taking as a business to reduce single-use plastics, marking our commitment to improve our wider sustainability practises.”

Alasdair Murdoch, CEO of Burger King UK, said: “We are committed to doing business the right way and sustainability is a fundamental part of that. We are glad to be leading the way in making this important change, giving all donated plastic toys a new purpose across our restaurants. Respect for the environment is a key pillar of our sustainability strategy in our ongoing commitment to bring more sustainable solutions to our business. This isn’t the start of the journey, but it’s part of it.”

Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer at Burger King, added: “We are a global brand, and the UK market will be leading the way in making this first step towards change, which is part of our wider commitment on reducing plastics. Work is currently underway across all of our markets to look at how we can completely move away from non bio-degradable plastic toys by 2023.”

Jamie Hall, Founder & CMO at Pentatonic commented: “Project Meltdown is a giant leap for the food and beverage industry in terms of its waste culture. True impact is only achievable through action, not words. Burger King UK is not making a vague gesture, which is so often the case in this sector, instead they are taking significant action. Burger King UK has listened to their audience and is responding in an emphatic way and we are delighted to provide the design and manufacturing technologies to make their bold vision a reality.”

For more information head to burgerking.co.uk/meltdown.

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