Day 008 - 07 Jul 94 - Page 33
1 business and -- no matter what you do in terms of cleaning
off your plate or your tray when you are done, there is
2 remaining lettuce or mayonnaise or ketchup etc., that
after just hours or a day begins to become odorous etc.,
3 so that was also a very legitimate problem. Also, because
of all those issues, the actual end product, although we
4 made some end products out of it, especially plastic
lumber, it had its limitations in terms because it was not
5 -- I would not classify it as a top quality product.
6 So, our evaluation of it was that at the time it had
difficulties; it is possible and I think it can be done,
7 you know, every barrier can be overcome over time. There
was a time in the United States we eventually switched
8 because of the different packaging option.
9 Q. I suppose it might be suggested that you could employ
large teams of people, not members of public but
10 McDonald's crew members, to sort the waste and put it into
separate bins, clean it and put it into separate bins at
11 the end of every day?
A. One could make that claim. The one problem with that
12 it would not solve, however, is our business in the United
States is at least 50 per cent drive through, and the fact
13 is no matter what you do in a restaurant, even if you
capture the 50 per cent of people that eat in, the fact is
14 you are not capturing the 50 per cent that leaves the
door.
15
Q. Are there any technical or technological problems about
16 recycling post consumer waste in that way? I am talking
now about polystyrene.
17 A. From a technical viewpoint, no, it is a very
recyclable item. Polystyrene is pure. It is
18 polystyrene. It can be recycled many times, given the
proper conditions.
19
Q. As I said, I am coming on to the second part of that which
20 you told us about, which is recycled content in the
original product. I am going to come on to that later on
21 in relation to paper.
22 Can we go back to page 138 which is in front of you?
I stopped at the sentence, "McDonald's interests in going
23 further", do you remember that?
A. Yes.
24
Q. I want to go on: "McDonald's recognised EDF's expertise
25 in solid waste management and the importance of seeking
expert opinions". Did the EDF offer that assistance, as
26 it were, for the project?
A. Yes, they did. That is one of the things that we
27 researched before we agreed to the partnership, is that we
found that they had a good amount of scientists and
28 economists on their staff.
29 Q. Did you, McDonald's, take something away from them at the
end of all this? For your future plans, did you,
30 McDonald's, gain advantages from the EDF?
A. Oh, yes.
