Amadiba committee cleans-up hazardous waste
Mbuthuma said the Mbizana part of the Wild Coast is affected down to Mkhambathi Nature Reserve.
The Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) recently met with eight officials from the Department of Health and experts to discuss hazardous waste collection.
Nonhle Mbuthuma of the Amadiba Crisis Committee said they wanted to discuss the issue of thousands of medical containers that had washed up with garbage during the floods recently.
Mbuthuma said the Mbizana part of the Wild Coast is affected to Mkhambathi Nature Reserve.
She said officials commended the community and the ACC for organising a clean-up from January 29, saying that they had never seen such an initiative.
“They also warned that the work is risky. Some of the medicines are dangerous and as ACC, we took the warning seriously. Protective gear was handed over in a first gesture. Last Sunday, residents again collected garbage north of Mnyameni River, worried that medicines would be eaten by curious children or by livestock wandering freely on the beaches. It shouldn’t be a community organising the clean-up alone, but some things can’t wait. Medical waste is still being washed up on the beaches. We now hope that the department cooperates to organise assistance in dealing with the disaster. Medical waste from five places on a 25km stretch between Sigidi and Mtentu villages was presented. The experts found that the medicines are from both the public and the private sectors. Some are not used in the public sector,” Mbuthuma said.
She added: “The question is which company is responsible for collecting medical waste in Mbizana? The ACC handed over all the samples. The evidence will be kept in a safe place at St Patrick’s Hospital. The investigation continues. What is happening on the Wild Coast in Mbizana is a result of cutting down staff and services in the public sector and giving contracts to private for-profit companies. According to Daily Maverick (February 7), all 91 public clinics and hospitals in the Eastern Cape have privatised their waste collection. As ACC, we urge the provincial government to order the insourcing of hazardous waste collection. We are fighting for the future. Justice must be done now, for the ocean and people who depend on it.”
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