Six men charged over dumped medical waste

State prosecutor Antoinette Ferreira said the case was postponed to 27 July for further investigations, notes a report on the IoL site. They are all out on conditional bail. The men were allegedly involved in the illegal dumping of loads of medical waste in the Welkom area. It was estimated that some 200 tons of medical waste alone was illegally dumped and buried at one of Brasher's companies, Maximus Bricks, in the industrial area of Welkom. More raids by the Green Scorpions and police revealed further illegal dumping sites behind the Welkom Showgrounds, a game farm near Virginia and a Welkom mine. Brasher had a contract with waste company, Wasteman, to transport medical waste. The Department of Environmental Affairs earlier indicated that Brasher faced various charges under the National Environmental Management Waste Act, including offences related to the illegal disposal of waste. The Green Scorpions were also assisting police with a fraud investigation. Full report on the IoL site Act

In another waste saga, a Daily Dispatch report notes that a medical waste company is demanding R11m from the Eastern Cape Health Department for hazardous medical waste removal services it has been supplying for more than two years to some 90 hospitals in the province. Compass Waste Services put their contract up for renewal last year, which went out to tender. However, due to irregularities in the process and vagueness in the document itself, the tender was challenged by Compass and withdrawn. Compass was awarded an interim contract of three months, which ended at the end of March. Compass MD Ian du Randt said the company now needed clarity on where it stood. Health Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo admitted there was no long-term plan in place for the removal of waste in the province, but was adamant the service would continue. Full Daily Dispatch report