The activism of two British schoolgirls seems to have finally paid off.

More than one year ago, sisters Ella and Caitlin McEwan started a petition calling on McDonald's and Burger King to stop giving out plastic toys with children's meals. McDonald's UK originally responded with an automated email, but on Tuesday, the company pledged to stop putting hard plastic toys in its Happy Meals, The Independent reported.

"This represents the biggest reduction in plastic by McDonald's UK and Ireland to date and is the next step in its mission to reduce its environmental impact across all areas of the business," McDonald's said in a statement reported by AFP, as published in The Jakarta Post.

Starting in 2021, the company will replace all plastic toys in the UK and Ireland with either a soft toy, a paper toy or a book. This will cut the chain's plastic use by 3,000 metric tons (approximately 3,307 U.S. tons), it estimated. Before 2021, the company also announced various steps to ease the transition, according to The Independent. Starting this month, the company will test paper packaging for Happy Meals. Beginning in August, the paper will also wrap books in Happy Meals. In two months, children can choose between a toy or a book in a meal. At the same time, the company will organize a "toy amnesty" in which children can recycle old toys in designated bins, where they will be used to make play equipment for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Environmental campaigners applauded the announcement, but said the company could do more.