Day 292 - 01 Nov 96 - Page 47
1 most experienced witness on this said it was not true.
2 That certainly would be a good line to dissuade people from
3 criticising them for not using that kind of packaging.
4
5 Day 22, no concern about CFCs in 1986. He said there was
6 no concern at the time when they changed in the UK in 1986,
7 and we say that cannot be true, that it was known that CFCs
8 were damaging to the ozone layer well before. And he
9 accepted that the US government was concerned in 1978, on
10 page 25, but he said he did not think it applied to
11 packaging, which was ridiculous, because there is bound to
12 be, in the manufacture of the packaging there is bound to
13 be release, in any event, whatever happens to the final
14 packaging.
15
16 Then we referred to a New Scientist article underneath that
17 line there, in August 1986, regarding packaging and CFCs,
18 saying how the fast food industry was now under the
19 microscope on its CFCs in packaging.
20
21 Page 28, no reason not to abandon polystyrene. (Pause)
22 I think on page 29 that refers to McDonald's had probably
23 been under pressure to ban CFCs and styrene. Then page 31,
24 basically he said three months later, after that time, he
25 ordered CFCs to be dropped.
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is Oakley ordered, is it?
28
29 MR. MORRIS: Ordered, yes. If I had known we were going to use
30 these notes, I would have made them a bit more clear.
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not worry. Carry on.
33
34 MR. MORRIS: The next one is page 33, oh yes, about McDonald's
35 concern hinged on Eddie Oakley seeing the newspaper reports
36 which seems to be the most reliable way of having an
37 environmental concern.
38
39 Well, this other point, he says on page 37 that he prefers
40 to use polystyrene in the UK as have only recycling plants
41 in Europe so it can be recycled. I have put a line,
42 because I think there was some analysis needed on the
43 answers to the questions to work out whether in fact they
44 were recycling or capable of recycling that material.
45 (Pause)
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Mr. Oakley actually said that, did he?
48
49 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I thought he made no bones about the fact
52 that the reason he liked it was that it presented the
53 burger far more acceptably to the customer. I have to say,
54 I found in some respects -- whatever I make of the parts of
55 his evidence you don't like -- Mr. Oakley rather
56 refreshing. He made no bones about liking Polystyrene
57 because it made the articles more saleable to the customer,
58 and when he was asked about the level of fat in the food he
59 said "What is wrong with that?" which you would say is the
60 real attitude of McDonald's.
