McDonald’s Junks Foam Packaging : Environment: Restaurant giant will begin replacing plastic packages with ‘superb alternatives’ made of more biodegradable paper.

McDonald’s Corp. announced today it will gradually phase out the plastic foam in which the fast-food giant packages its Big Macs and other food.

“Although some scientific studies indicate that foam packaging is environmentally sound, our customers just don’t feel good about it,” McDonald’s USA President Edward Rensi said. “So we’re changing.”

The decision was hailed by an environmental group, which predicted McDonald’s will be a trend-setter in the industry.

“McDonald’s understands that the future is green,” Fred Krupp, executive director of the Washington-based Environmental Defense Fund, said. “I think other companies will follow suit.”

Krupp’s nonprofit group has worked with McDonald’s since August to devise the phase-out plan, said Krupp, who joined Rensi at the company’s Oak Brook, Ill., headquarters in making the announcement.

“I think it’s a big day for the American public,” said Rensi. “We’ve been studying this issue of environmental problems, and McDonald’s is not interested in doing anything but the right thing.”

First to go will be the clamshell-shaped sandwich boxes, which will be replaced by paper products manufactured in a new process that will preserve the food’s temperature and freshness, Rensi said.

“We’ve found some superb alternatives,” said Rensi, who did not offer additional details.

The company is still trying to determine suitable replacements for plastic cutlery and the plastic cups in which coffee is served, he said.

Rensi said McDonald’s will begin eliminating foam sandwich containers--which account for nearly 75% of its total foam use--in the United States within 60 days. No timetable has been set for phasing out plastic foam at its restaurants abroad.

McDonald’s has for years defended its use of the plastic foam, which lingers for decades in landfills.

In April, Rensi said McDonald’s, which serves 22 million people daily worldwide, had no plans to shift away from using plastics. He said at that time that polystyrene containers can be recycled while coated paper used in food packaging often cannot.