Durban — The eThekwini Municipality’s law enforcement arm has fined a McDonald’s franchise for illegal dumping.
The Durban Metro Police Service issued a R5 000 fine to the McDonald’s franchise, situated on 195 KE Masinga Road in Durban central, for illegal dumping.
Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the fine was aligned with the City’s Nuisances and Behaviour in Public Places By-law which said illegal dumping was an offence and prohibited in areas that fell within the eThekwini Municipal boundaries.
Metro police spokesperson Colonel Boysie Zungu said they had received numerous complaints regarding refuse bags that would “pop up” on the pavement near the establishment.
“We investigated and found that the packaging inside the bags was from the McDonald’s establishment. The culprit was caught red-handed after we received a tip-off that the establishment was illegally dumping refuse bags on the side of the road,” Zungu said.
The officers’ quick action led to the fining of the establishment’s manager, he said.
Zungu said he hoped this recent enforcement action would send a strong message to other businesses that the City showed no fear or favour when it came to fining illegal dumpers.
Sisilana added this was one example of the number of fines the City had issued to businesses and popular establishments since intensifying its fight against this scourge.
“Littering and illegal dumping do not only hamper the City’s efforts at improving cleanliness in the City, it also has devastating impacts on the environment because the trash clogs up our stormwater drains. Then it gets washed into our rivers and oceans which poses a serious danger to marine life. Clogged stormwater drains also lead to localised flooding, endangering the lives of our residents and visitors,” Sisilana said.
In their efforts to maintain a clean and sustainable City, residents, businesses and visitors were urged to join in the fight against illegal dumping by reporting it to the Cleansing and Solid Waste Department on 031 311 8804, she said.
“We also call upon residents to stop dumping illegally or face the full might of the law,” Sisilana said.
Last week, the municipality said the eThekwini Transport Authority was embarking on a week-long taxi tank clean-up in the central business district.
It was undertaken by teams from the Expanded Public Works Programme, Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit, Inner City Area Based Management, and the Engineering Unit’s Roads and Stormwater team.
“On August 8, teams cleared stormwater drains at the Old Dutch Taxi rank (Phoenix Rank), Victoria Bus Rank, and Etna Lane,” the municipality said.
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