Day 075 - 17 Jan 95 - Page 39


     
     1
     2   MS. STEEL:  Yes, and also the company could use reusable or
     3        returnable packaging?
     4        A.  I think that is a matter of opinion, because I would
     5        want then to address that in environmental terms that would
     6        take into account a whole range of things that I would
     7        expect them to examine and, if I were asked for that
     8        opinion, I would want to be satisfied that the in terms of
     9        hygiene and in terms of energy consumption they had
    10        examined those questions.  That seems to me to take us into
    11        another area in which I would not profess to be competent.
    12        I am reliably informed about these matters, but I am not a
    13        chemist nor a physicist.
    14
    15   MR. MORRIS:  I will just ask you a few questions and then Helen
    16        will finish off.  Just on that last point, it relates also
    17        to Coca Cola, the idea of having deposits on packaging for
    18        the return of bottles or whatever, is it the case that the
    19        attractiveness of that is that not only will maybe the
    20        customer bring the packaging back but, presumably, if it is
    21        dropped as environment/index.html">litter other people may pick it up and think,
    22        "I can get some money if I return that"?  Is that how you
    23        see it?
    24        A.  I am really not basically in favour of selective
    25        deposit legislation.  If it were to be inaugurated it would
    26        need to relate to all items of environment/index.html">litter.  One of the biggest
    27        problems that flows from putting value on some environment/index.html">litter and
    28        not others is that it gives rise to inequities in
    29        practice.  This has emerged in the United States, for
    30        instance, where environment/index.html">litter receptacles and environment/index.html">litter bins are
    31        tipped up in the street because contained within them are
    32        items of environment/index.html">litter that have value and the rest is tipped all
    33        over the street.  So I am really saying that deposit
    34        legislation on that must be on newspapers, tobacco cartons,
    35        everything that constitutes environment/index.html">litter.  I am inclined of the
    36        view at the moment that that is impractical.
    37
    38   Q.   The disposables tax in Germany, you have looked at this,
    39        have you?
    40        A.  Not in great detail but I am familiar with it.
    41
    42   Q.   Some of it, as I understand it, and correct me if I am
    43        wrong, it means that the company has to pay to the Local
    44        Authority an amount per item.  For example, it might be 5
    45        pence for every disposable cup it gives to a customer.  Is
    46        that how you understand it?
    47        A.  It has to satisfy the Local Authority either that it
    48        enters into that or that it itself sets up a means of
    49        retrieval.  The way in which it has worked out has been
    50        that in certain circumstances -- it depends on the nature 
    51        of the packaging and it depends on the nature of the 
    52        business, but in some cases the product is returnable to 
    53        the source; in other cases it has to be dealt with at point
    54        of sale and that may be handled by the company that is
    55        actually doing the selling; or it may subsequently or
    56        alternatively be handled by the Local Authority in the way
    57        that you described.  There are a variety of measures used
    58        within the principle, which is that the producer should
    59        accept the responsibility for the disposable of the waste.
    60

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