'Happy Meals playground' opens for Oxford Children's Hospital patients

The activity area in Oxford is the first of 15 being unveiled by Ronald McDonald House Charities UK

A playground made out of recycled fast-food plastic toys has opened in Oxford.

The outdoor activity area is the first of 15 being unveiled by Ronald McDonald House Charities UK.

More than one million McDonald's toys will be recycled overall, with the food giant also removing non-sustainable hard plastic from its toys from 2021.

Last year sisters Ella and Caitlin McEwan gathered more than 400,000 signatures against the use of plastic toys in children's meals.

Ella and Caitlin McEwan called for giveaway products to be made from sustainable materials

The first playground is for families staying at the Ronald McDonald centre near to Oxford Children's Hospital.

It was designed to be accessible and help promote both physical and cognitive development, and was officially opened on Thursday.

It is situated in the garden of the 62-bedroom facility, which provides free "home away from home" accommodation for families with children at the hospital.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, McDonald's held a toy amnesty at its restaurants, collecting plastic toys to recycle.

The playgrounds will also be constructed from surplus toys unused because of the lockdowns.

Beth Hart, from McDonald's UK, said: "Removing hard plastic toys from our Happy Meal next year will see more than 3,000 tonnes of plastic removed from our supply chain and is a big step in our ongoing sustainability journey."

McDonald's started giving away toys when it launched its Happy Meal deal in 1979.

From next year they will consist only of soft toys, paper-based gifts or books.

The playground was officially opened by TV presenter Katie Piper on Thursday