McDonald’s McFlurry makes big change after nearly 30 years

When you bought a McFlurry at McDonald’s, part of the experience was being able to scoop it out with the unique, thick spoon that accompanied the dessert. Many thought it was a spoon and a straw combined into one. The device, called a spindle, was introduced in 1995 and actually doubled as a utensil for the patron and a tool for the employee — it was inserted into the soft serve by the McFlurry machine to mix the toppings in a circular motion.

However, starting this month, those instruments will no longer accompany the sweet treat. Moving forward, the McFlurry experience will never be the same.

In an effort to cut back on the use of plastics, the fast food giant is switching to a reusable spindle, which will no longer accompany the McFlurry. Instead, it will remain attached to the McFlurry machine and employees will clean it every four hours, according to Business Insider.

Patrons will now be served a smaller plastic spoon with each McFlurry, which the company said in an official statement will use less plastic. According to a Reddit post in r/McDonaldsEmployees, a few workers are irritated by the change, arguing that it won’t actually use less plastic if the brand still has them swap out spindles while also giving customers a different plastic spoon.

SFGATE reached out to McDonald’s about how much less plastic will actually be used due to this modification, but did not hear back in time for publication.

McDonald’s seems to be shifting into a more environmentally conscious phase as in 2022 it started to use paper-based utensils in the United Kingdom. A McDonald’s representative told Business Insider that the new McFlurry spindle rollout would vary by location.