Welkom - Four illegal medical waste dump sites in Welkom in the Free State were on Wednesday declared clean after a R53-million clean-up operation which removed 18 600 tons of contaminated soil and medical waste.
Frances Craigie, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Affairs' Environmental Management Inspectorate, said they would now focus on the criminal trial.
“We can now put all our focus on the criminal case,” said Craigie.
The inspectorate, also known as the Green Scorpions, and two independent environmental experts, inspected the sites in the Welkom area and found it complied with environmental clean-up standards.
The criminal case against nine people and entities investigated for illegally dumping the waste, discovered in November 2009, would continue on November 29.
They included the former chief executive officer of waste company Wasteman, Olivier Meyer, and Welkom businessman and Maximus Bricks owner Gavin Brasher.
Brasher was a sub-contractor for Wasteman.
Craigie said the prosecuting team was looking at bringing charges against another eight people
Speaking to journalists at the Maximus Bricks site, independent hydro-geologist Ritchie Morris (SUBS: NAME CORRECT) said some 12,000 tons of clay ground mixed with waste was removed at the site.
The waste was buried in trenches which varied from 1.5m to 5.5m deep and about 1.5m apart which covered the yard.
Limited stockpiling of the contaminated soil occurred and most was directly loaded on trucks which took the material to legal dumps sites at Holfontein, near Springs, and Vissershoek in the Western Cape.
The excavated areas at Maximus Bricks, the Welkom Showgrounds, a game farm outside Virginia and an old shaft on Harmony Gold's property was refilled with clean soil and compacted.
Ground water tests at Maximus Bricks have shown no contamination from the medical waste thus far.
A huge excavator from Waste Giant, the company which did the clean-up, was the only evidence of what had happened at Maximus Bricks on Wednesday.
A handful of workers in special clothes, masks and hard hats were also standing around at the huge open yard.
Chairman of Waste Giant, Ian Coetzee, said the magnitude of the work done was “quite big”. He said hopefully the industry could go forward now, “doing the work, the right way”.
Morris said the success of the project could be attributed to Wasteman's commitment as well as co-operation between the contractors, authorities and environmental consultants.
Acting Wasteman chief executive officer Granville Rex said the company was committed to the clean-up of the waste from the start.
“It was essential to us that we acted correctly, methodically and ethically to ensure that the clean-up was conducted to the letter of the law,” he said in a statement.
Wasteman paid for the clean-up.
Private safety and health expert, Dave Marock, who also inspected the site, said more effort should be put into the treatment of medical waste in South Africa.
“More waste is being collected than legally treated,” he said.
Marock said the country needs more facilities, as those currently treating medical waste were running at 100 percent capacity.
“Where does the waste go during upgrades and breakdowns?” he asked.
Marock said government should also re-examine the issue of waste licence applications and the handling of objections about new entrants into the business. - Sapa