The Real Reason Why McDonald's Collector's Cups Are Plastic This Year
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People are hitting up McDonald's this month to get one of the restaurant's new nostalgic collector cups. But many fans were shocked to find that the cups were made of plastic and not glass, like they used to be.
Social media was flooded with comments from customers expressing their disappointment over them being plastic.
"Very let down by the McDonald’s collectors cups and the fact that they’re plastic. I still have one of the Flintstones glasses from like thirty years ago," one person wrote, echoing the sentiment of many.
Americans also saw that Canadian McDonald's locations had glass collectors cups this year, which only fueled their disappointment.
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According to McDonald's, the decision to go with plastic over glass actually comes with several benefits. First off, the collector cups are made from Tritan plastic, a BPA-free material that's also durable. Second, the plastic also helps keep the artwork vivid. We don't need Hello Kitty fading on us, now do we?
“McDonald’s has distributed numerous glass and plastic collectibles over the years, and our fans have loved both iterations. The Collector’s Meal cups in the US use Tritan plastic – a reusable, durable material that showcases the vibrant artwork. The US cups are a colorful remix of our classic collectibles and we’re excited for fans to enjoy them for years to come,” McDonald's shared in a statement to Delish.
There have been health concerns around the glass McDonald's cups in the past, such as with the Shrek 3D cups in 2010. As Indy Star reported, "officials discovered the glassware's designs contained toxic amounts of cadmium." Consumer Reports noted that while cadmium gives the cups more vibrant colors in painted glass, "studies have linked it to cancer, kidney, and bone disease if the element is ingested in excess over long periods of time."
Indy Star also reported that Jim Henson-themed glass McDonald's cups caused concern way back in 1981 over lead-based paint. "State officials in Massachusetts, however, warned the glassware might contain dangerous levels of lead-based paint," the outlet reported. "The state legislature's Health Care Committee in May 1981 suggested banning McDonald's national promotional campaign from appearing in Massachusetts altogether." And collectable glass cups from 1977 raised similar concerns over lead-based paint.
This year, despite the hoopla surrounding the cups being plastic, there still appears to be plenty of demand over the collectible item. On eBay, the cups are selling for $500, or even as much as $42,000, but you can still snatch one up for a modest $18.
Have you gotten your hands on a collector cup yet?
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