Day 005 - 04 Jul 94 - Page 47
1 one example.
A. We already do them.
2
Q. I will give you an example. The most dramatic and
3 effective way of reducing packaging waste would be not to
provide any packaging in its food, but food would be
4 consumed on the premises on plates.
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That cannot be right because there has to be
packaging, whether it is, I do not know, cardboard boxes,
6 that cups arrive in the store in.
7 MR. MORRIS: I am talking about post consumer packaging which
is what we are generally talking about. Every item at the
8 moment is packaged individually by the company, additional
from when it arrives, into some kind of packaging and
9 taken away by the consumers. Would you consider as an
option what they would call a cafeteria style approach?
10 A. No, when every study I have ever seen on the subject
of packaging and carrying out the business in the way we
11 do currently versus knives, forks, china plates, heated
water, bacteria, broken plates, all that goes with it, the
12 whole chain of energy consumed to heat water, to wash
dishes, and all that goes with it, the disposable
13 packaging is the preferred way to go. It has a far less
of an impact on the environment as evidenced by third
14 parties, some of whom, I am sure, will give evidence in
this case.
15
Q. So if you felt that not using packaging but using knives,
16 forks and plates, whatever was better for the environment,
would you do it?
17 A. I am sorry -- using?
18 Q. If you felt that changing your style to not using
packaging post consumer was actually better for the
19 environment -- you are saying that it is better for the
environment to have packaging -- but if you felt it was
20 not better for the environment, would you change?
A. Well, it is not the point, is it? Every study, every
21 third party we have ever taken advice from, universities,
outside organisations, says the opposite is true. The
22 overall environmental effect of using knives and forks is
higher and bigger than we currently do.
23
We have chosen the opposite tack, the one pointed out by
24 his Lordship a few moments ago. What we can do something
about in the immediate time, right now, is go after our
25 external packaging.
26 I mentioned on my first day of testimony that we have gone
to bulk syrups. We have eliminated thousands of plastic
27 jugs and many, many cubic yards of corrugated paper; we
have taken all of the external packaging off of our
28 syrups; we have taken cardboard boxes from our french
fried programme and tried to reuse them in keeping with
29 the second priority on this list.
30 Q. Yes. We are talking about post consumer packaging which
some critics might say is a major cause of environmental
