Day 008 - 07 Jul 94 - Page 18

     
     1        to that conclusion.
 
     2   Q.   Please, that is what I would like you to do?
              A.  Well, No. 1, when you serve 2,000 people a day,
     3        I would like you to try to imagine the amount of dishes,
              cups and silverware that that would require in our
     4        operation.  It is not the same as feeding my family of
              four at home.  When feeding 2,000 people a day, you would
     5        have a significant quantity of this permanent wear which
              would require a large dish-washing unit; that dish-washing
     6        unit would be probably the largest consumer of energy in
              the restaurants, so you would have a significant energy
     7        impact.  It consumes hundreds of gallons of water per hour
              in order to try to wash the dishes and it uses detergents
     8        and chemicals to clean.
 
     9        Also from a general environmental perspective, we feel it
              does not provide as much a safe environment for McDonald's
    10        because when using dishwashers the environment can get
              wet, the floor can get wet, there is more exposure to
         slips and falls.
 
    12   Q.   Let me ask you this question.  If you had concluded at the
              end of that analysis that there was a preponderate benefit
    13        for the environment to be derived from going over to
              reusables, what do you think you would have done about it?
    14        A.  An environmental benefit?  Strictly environmental
              benefit?
    15
         Q.   Strictly environmental?
    16        A.  I would do as we do today.  I would be a big advocate
              for anything I saw was an environmental improvement and
    17        try to work very hard within the McDonald's business to
              make changes that fit into our business.
    18
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can I just ask you about that?  Is there a
    19        certain tension, I am not suggesting other than amicable
              tension, between your department, as it were, and those
    20        who are focused on economic points, just as there is in a
              government, between a department of environment and the
         treasury and so on.  Is that a fair analogy or does it not
              work that way?
    22        A.  No, I would not put it that way.  The way I would put
              it is at McDonald's we have what we call management
    23        practices; we work in teams; tremendous effort and top
              management directive to work in teams so that we cannot
    24        have the problems you are alluding to.  When I say that we
              would have to work with different parts of the company,
    25        that would imply that we would need to work in teams to
              approach all the angles of this issue. 
    26 
              As an example, if you were to put a large dishwasher in 
    27        McDonald's restaurant, you no longer have the same
              restaurant.  If you were to come to a restaurant and walk
    28        around you would find that every square inch of that
              restaurant is utilised.  So that if you are going to add
    29        any type of cubic feet to the operation, it has a
              tremendous effect, just from a pure facilities viewpoint.
    30        There are other impacts as well.