Put a stop to illegal dumping nonsense

It is about time that municipal and health authorities start taking the issue of illegal dumping of waste more seriously.

Last week alone, for example, the ZO reported on two such incidents. After investigations, it was

found that a city funeral parlour was dumping empty body bags on a farm road just outside Empangeni, instead of disposing these as per regulations through a contracted and accredited waste disposal company.

The body bags were identified as coming from two local hospitals. A Notice of Intention to revoke the parlour’s Certificate of Competence has been served.

In Richards Bay, business people were up in arms last week over illegal dumping in Alton, a mess which is an eyesore, unhygienic and attracting unsavoury characters.

It appears the waste, which includes empty bread flour bags, entire loaves of bread

(which could be given to homeless people), as well as hardware-type refuse such as empty silicone tubes, had been dumped at an illegal dump site at the end of Bronze Bar for some weeks.

These are just two examples. This newspaper regularly reports on such activities where companies, contractors and the public simply drop off their rubbish at the nearest open space.

This is unacceptable. There are landfill sites available to deal with waste in a controlled manner.

Strewing about waste – especially medical, chemical and certain types of equipment waste – in any old place in an uncontrolled manner, poses a serious health threat to the public, animals and the

environment.

That is why there are regulations. But too many people simply refuse to take this issue

seriously and couldn’t care less what the consequences of their actions could be, as long as they spare themselves a little inconvenience.

There is only one way to put a stop to this nonsense. With not too much effort authorities can monitor and identify the culprits easily  enough – usually there are an abundance of clues in the waste itself to direct the ‘waste police’ to the source.

Then fine them to high heaven – not a few hundred rands, but a few thousand – and name and shame them.

That should make the illegal waste brigades think twice about messing up our environment.