Activist Tom Barker, dressed like Ronald McDonald, loses his wig to Turnbull House manager Herb Christophers during yesterday's protest.

Environmental activists dumped sackloads of McDonald's rubbish on the steps of Turnbull House where a Youth Environmental Summit, sponsored by the fast-food chain, was being held yesterday.

The activists claimed that by sponsoring such a summit McDonald's was undermining the credibility of the environmental movement.

Spokesman Mark Dunick said:

"It's outrageous! These big companies think they can fool people. It's their rubbish that's causing the damage."

The protest was staged by activists who attended workshops organised by the U.S.-based group Youth for Environmental Sanity, which toured North Island schools in February.

McDonald's environmental affairs co-ordinator Katy Kelso said: "We're obviously very disappointed that it [the protest] has taken place."

Mrs Kelso said packaging issues must be seen in the context of making up 12 percent of the municipal waste stream.

"However McDonald's have been actively working to reduce the amount of packaging we sent to landfills through our recycling programme and reducing that packaging wherever possible."

(Evening Post, Wednesday 13 July 1993)