Day 009 - 08 Jul 94 - Page 45
1 is, could we take McDonald's waste and safely,
appropriately incinerate the waste on site, and could we
2 practically do it, could we financially do it and would it
meet all the regulations by the law to do so? So we did
3 do a two store test for a short period of time.
4 Q. What was the result of that test?
A. The results showed that it really successfully
5 answered the question of whether or not it met government
regulations. We monitored all the emissions and found
6 that all emissions were safe and complied with federal
regulations. We discontinued the test because of the lack
7 of practicality of really doing it in our restaurants.
8 Q. Is it not true that there was quite a bit of controversy
about this, and that various campaigning groups and other
9 organisations in the States said that pollutants were
released when polystyrene and the other materials were
10 being incinerated, and that McDonald's refused to make
this study public?
11 A. Well, I am not aware of the specifics you are talking
about. I am aware that incineration back then, and still
12 today -- it is probably more controversial today as a
general issue than it was in 1987 and 1988 -- and that is
13 why there has been absolutely no growth in incineration
practices in the United States.
14
There is basically a public outcry against the growth of
15 incineration. The common belief is that it is not -- I am
not sure whether it is really based on technical matters;
16 it is more based on not having it in my backyard type
thinking -- nobody wants an incinerator located near where
17 they live.
18 Q. Why do you think that is?
A. It is not a nice site. Aesthetically, it is not
19 pleasing.
20 Q. And people might be concerned for their health as well?
A. There are those concerns of people about the emissions
21 from incinerators, correct.
22 Q. Does McDonald's sell Sundaes in many of its outlets?
A. Yes.
23
Q. And what are they usually sold in?
24 A. There is no one package that is used for that
worldwide. To my knowledge, we use either polystyrene,
25 polystyrene container. I know in some countries we use a
paper board container and in other countries we use what
26 I would call a starch based material. It is actually like
a cone, if you were to buy an ice cream cone. It is a
27 cone material, edible.
28 Q. You mentioned that in your statement. I was just
wondering why you do not use edible waffle in all the
29 countries that you serve Sundaes in?
A. It is something that I would like to see happen over
30 time, and so we are working on it. We are testing it. In
Germany, I personally like the idea that we are using that
