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All 85 KFC restaurants in Singapore stop serving plastic cups

(Yahoo News Singapore file photo)
(Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to indicate that there are 85 KFC restaurants and not 84 restaurants as previously reported.

SINGAPORE — All 85 KFC restaurants in Singapore have stopped dishing out plastic cups at the start of November.

The fast-food chain will also trial phasing out paper packaging for 13 dine-in menu items, replacing them with reusable trays from December in two outlets: Kallang and Toa Payoh.

Replacing regular plastic cups with paper cups manufactured from food-grade paper will represent the savings of 8.3g of plastic from a regular-sized cup and 10g from a medium-sized cup, said KFC Singapore.

This would translate to savings of about 4.25 metric tonnes of plastic waste per month, or 51 metric tonnes per year, it added.

“We are proud to have kick-started a nation-wide movement against single-use plastic straws in 2018. Next, on our continuous drive towards environmental sustainability, KFC Singapore is replacing plastic cups with paper cups in 2019,” said KFC Singapore’s general manager Lynette Lee.

KFC’s zero straw and lid initiative last year saved an estimated 17.8 metric tonnes of plastic waste in a year.

The fast-food chain encourages patrons to bring their own cutlery and takeaway bags to help cut waste.

“As spirited as KFC Singapore is about saving the environment, patrons can be assured that their needs are paramount and their dining experiences will not be compromised,” said KFC Singapore.

“In the instance of the No Straw campaign, straws will remain available for children, elderly and people with special needs upon request. Customers ordering takeaway will still be provided plastic lids for their drink orders.”

This comes as FairPrice announced on Monday that it is extending its no-plastic bag initiative to 25 outlets for one year from next week.

From July, as part of a World Wide Fund for Nature initiative, over 270 food and beverage outlets had fully removed straws from their premises or provided them only on request.

These include SaladStop!, PastaMania, Kraftwich, and Nando’s Singapore, as well as those run by Spa Esprit Group, including Tiong Bahru Bakery, and Lo & Behold Group, including Loof and The White Rabbit.

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