The Green Scorpions and eThekwini Municipality are probing a case of illegal dumping of waste material after video footage of Ms Hygiene employees disposing of sewage went viral on social media last week.
In the video, two people are seen standing near a branded vehicle, allegedly disposing of waste into a stormwater drain.
Condemning the incident, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma said a municipal official reported the matter.
“The environmental management inspectors, also known as Green Scorpions, and eThekwini Municipality are investigating the matter,” he said.
Duma said the municipality had a duty to ensure compliance with the municipal by-laws and the department to ensure compliance with the Constitution and National Environment Management Act of 1998.
The pair were caught parked near the Solomon Mahlangu (Edwin Swales) Drive turn-off at the N2 where they were allegedly dumping sewage from a mobile unit.
According to The Mercury, Ms Hygiene management denied wrongdoing.
The mobile toilet company’s management claimed that the trailer was in transit from uMnini where it occasionally parked to get prepared for a booking the following day.
The management said that during the drive, one of the doors opened and a yellow pipe fell out, forcing the driver to stop and put it back into the trailer.
“An unidentified man came with a camera, claiming staff were involved in desludging of the stormwater drainage. This door had been repaired recently and to the best of the knowledge of our personnel, it had been fixed,” they told the publication.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city was aware of the video and the matter was being investigated internally.
IOL