[(Title)] McDonald's plastic straws to be phased out across Australia by 2020.

McDonald's will phase out plastic straws across Australia by 2020, starting with a trial of paper straws at two restaurants from next month.

麦当劳将在2020年之前逐步淘汰整个澳大利亚的塑料吸管，从下个月在两家餐厅试用纸质吸管开始。

In a statement, McDonald's Australia director of supply chain Robert Sexton said the company had been working for some time to find appropriate alternatives.

麦当劳澳大利亚供应链部主管罗伯特·塞克斯顿(RobertSexton)在一份声明中表示，公司已经为寻找合适的替代品做了一段时间的工作。

"We know plastic straws is a topic our customers are passionate about and we will find a viable solution," Mr Sexton said.

塞克斯顿先生说：“我们知道塑料吸管是客户所关心的话题，我们会找到一种可行的解决办法。”

"As one of the world's largest restaurant businesses, we know we have the responsibility and opportunity to make significant change."

“作为世界上最大的餐馆业务之一，我们知道我们有责任并有机会作出重大改变。”

The announcement comes ahead of the second series of the ABC's War On Waste program, which tackles the issue of single-use plastic straws.

该声明是在ABC废物战争系列第二系列发布之前发布的，该系列处理了单用塑料管问题。

Environmental groups say Australians use about 10 million straws every day, or 3.5 billion a year.

环保组织称，澳大利亚人每天使用大约1000万支吸管，即每年用掉35亿支吸管。

In one of the new episodes of War On Waste, host Craig Reucassel approaches the restaurant chain with a prop dubbed "McChokey" — a sea turtle sculpture made of straws.

Reucassel contends that McChokey should be the new McDonald's mascot, as it's more appropriate than Grimace or the Hamburglar.

Following the McDonald's announcement, Reucassel said he believed it was "a happy coincidence".

Greenpeace Australia has applauded the fast-food chain's decision.

澳大利亚绿色和平组织对麦当劳的决定表示赞扬。

"It's wonderful McDonald's is making a commitment to reducing consumption of single-use plastic and we look forward to seeing more detail around this proposal to see the overall impact," spokesman Simon Black said.

“麦当劳的发言人西蒙·布莱克(SimonBlack)说：“麦当劳正在致力于减少单用塑料的消费量，我们期待看到这项建议的更多细节，以了解其总体影响。

The McDonald's announcement follows Starbucks' decision last week to eliminate plastic straws from all its store within two years, citing the environmental threat to oceans.

The paper straws to be used by McDonald's are the same as those the company is trialling in the UK, a spokeswoman added.

发言人补充说，麦当劳使用的纸吸管与英国公司试用的吸管相同。

ABC/AAP

ABC/AAP