Day 293 - 04 Nov 96 - Page 40
1 Those were 1984 figures, I think, in fact. So, obviously,
2 since that time, their sale of burgers has gone up; and, on
3 top of that, the packaging is more bulky than the food item
4 anyway. Well, I will not hazard a guess as to how many
5 times they would reach the moon and back now with their
6 packaging.
7
8 MR JUSTICE BELL: I just want to ask -- Mr. Rampton, am I right
9 in assuming that there are no either Gee Whizz figures or
10 annual report figures which relate to packaging that you
11 can immediately -----
12
13 MR. RAMPTON: Not that I can think of. I have tried to build
14 up -- what I have done, I have tried to build up, as far as
15 I can, a year by year picture, so far as I see it to be
16 relevant. I have just had to use the figures which
17 Mr. Kouchoucos has given us at various times. Also, there
18 are some figures -- again, they do not give a consistent
19 historical picture -- in some of the pink files.
20
21 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
22
23 MR. RAMPTON: So far as I am able to, I will refer
24 your Lordship to those when it is my turn.
25
26 MS. STEEL: In case you need the reference -- which is probably
27 unlikely -- the figures about the hamburgers stretching to
28 the moon and back five times are in the Defendants'
29 document 197 of the original list of documents; and that
30 was produced, I think, 1985. It has got stuff about 1984
31 in it.
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
34
35 MR. MORRIS: We are just finishing off bits and pieces now.
36
37 MS. STEEL: The only things I wanted to bring up -- you asked
38 for some examples about where they trumpet their use of
39 recycled paper. In the Defendants' list of documents,
40 bundle 2, tab 39 -- we did go through this with one of the
41 witnesses; I can't actually remember who now -- the
42 opportunities and pitfalls of environmentally sound
43 packaging, panel presentation by Mike Freedman and
44 Corinne Reed, McDonald's Restaurants Limited. On page 6 of
45 that -- I don't know whether we ever found out who this was
46 directed to -- on page 6 of that, it does say: "We are
47 heavily committed to the use of recycled paper."
48
49 Actually, this document is the place where it says: "When
50 you look at one of our typical takeaway meals, all UK
51 carry-out bags are made from 30 percent recycled paper, and
52 we are looking at the possibility of increasing that
53 amount." Then it says: "But other paper that comes into
54 direct contact with food, like this bag of fries, has to be
55 made from virgin paper pulp under the food laws of most
56 European countries. So we cannot use recycled paper here."
57
58 Obviously, that was what Mr. Morris was referring to
59 earlier, where that is actually untrue; there is nothing to
60 stop them using recycled paper next to the food, except in
