A PROHIBITION notice has been issued to an Empangeni funeral parlour this week after it was found guilty of illegally dumping used body bags on a farm road in the area.
Earlier this year Zisize Funeral Services was served with a Notice of Intention to revoke their Certificate of Competence after they were found to be the culprits when the ZO initially broke the story.
In July the ZO reported on a number of body bags dumped on the farm road in Empangeni.
The ZO investigated the matter together with the King Cetshwayo District Municipality’s Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Health, revealing that Zisize Funeral Services was responsible.
Last week the ZO received a call from a local security company regarding more used body bags being dumped in the same area.
‘Investigations were carried out and it was confirmed that the bags had been dumped on the site. The file numbers on the labels belonged to Ngwelezana and eShowe hospitals respectively,’ said King Cetshwayo’s Acting Municipal Manager, Thanda Mnguni.
‘Records from both hospitals showed that the bodies were taken by Zisize Funeral Services for burial. The company was contacted and they confirmed knowledge of the body bags in question.
‘An instruction to clean the site was given and they obliged. They have also been issued with a prohibition notice.
‘Compass Waste Services will collect the body bags for final disposal.’
Democratic Alliance Councillor Louis Fourie said the practice was totally unacceptable.
‘This is an environmental and health risk. Any business, not just the one in question, which cannot comply with environmental and health regulations needs to be dealt with properly.
‘As soon as it starts raining all the waste from those body bags can get into the water systems and streams, which could lead to a more problem,’ said Fourie.
Medical waste poses risks of environmental pollution and the transmission of communicable diseases such as Hepatitis A and B.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Body bag culprits identified
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp – 072 069 4169
Instagram – zululand_observer
