McDonald’s axes ‘absolutely disgusting’ product less than a year after launch

After months of pleading, McDonald’s customers will be happy to hear that a particular item is being scrapped.

Back in January 2025, in an attempt to go green and decrease its plastic consumption, the fast food chain made the decision to swap out its plastic lids for hot drinks with a new paper alternative.

Unfortunately, the fibre-based lids were an immediate flop with consumers – criticised for their strange texture and sogginess.

One social media user, @emmatwinmum even went as far as to say that the new lids had ‘totally ruined the whole coffee drinking experience.’

So, to try and win back their coffee consumer base, McDonald’s have officially reintroduced plastic lids.

Maybe not a total win for the environment, but definitely a win for fans of a Maccys flat white.

The fibre-based lids were introduced as part of the chain’s global initiative ‘Closing the loop on waste.’

The project, which the chain has pledged should be complete by 2030, aims to reduce the amount of material used across packaging in customer and kitchen areas in the McDonald’s system by 20% versus 2023.

Other aspects of this plan has involved switching to paper-based cutlery in 2021 and removing the plastic lids from McFlurrys in 2022.

And while these decisions themselves prompted some minor backlash from customers, the soggy coffee lid saga proved to be the most heated move yet.

Totally not fit for purpose

Almost immediately after the new lids were introduced, customers began flooding TikTok with reviews.

One of the main criticisms was that due to the material of the lids, people were finding it exceedingly difficult to drink their coffee without the paper dissolving and falling apart.

User @Alextench called the lids ‘absolutely disgusting’ and ‘not fit for purpose.’

Conducting a full-scale investigation, he went on to note how while the lids seemed solid on first inspection, after just one or two swigs from his coffee, the liquid began seeping into the paper – totally destroying the structure of the lid and making it near-on impossible to drink without spilling.

@Phillane1reiterated this mindset, noting how he felt he needed to hold onto the lid when sipping in case it came off.

‘It’s not an easy experience drinking a cup of coffee in McDonald’s anymore,’ he added.

Unsurprisingly, a number of customers previously had similar complaints about McDonald’s paper straws.

Similarly to the fibre-based lids, consumers criticised the paper straws for their tendency to fall apart or crumble.

On X, user @richardhyland wrote: ‘I used to love a McDonald’s thick shake, but they are impossible to drink with the paper straws. The straw descends to a pulp before you’re half way through it.’

He added that as an alternative, him and his partner now take metal straws whenever they visit a McDonald’s branch.

I physically cannot drink from this

Another user on TikTok, @emmatwinmum, shared that one of her main gripes with the lids was how they affected the actual taste of the drink, ultimately impacting the entire coffee drinking experience.

While this might seem trivial to some, McDonald’s sells approximately eight million cups of coffee globally every day.

In the UK alone, that’s approximately 440,000 lattes, cappuccinos, and espresso’s keeping Brits caffeinated.

The TikTok creator added: ‘The texture is so dry and weird, it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard every time I take a sip.’

And it looks like someone on the McDonald’s social team was listening in because plastic lids are officially making a comeback.

The fast food chain stated: ‘We will be temporarily returning to plastic lids while we find a suitable alternative that performs to the standards we require.’

One customer, evidently very pleased about McDonald’s decision, took to TikTok to exclaim: ‘Please tell me this isn’t a glitch in the system!’ While @Greenyb added: ‘Oh how we have missed this rare thing of beauty!’