McDonald’s fined for illegal dumping

Bags of litter filled with burger boxes, leftover food and McFlurry cups were strewn across KE Masinga Road in Durban earlier this week. Metro police caught the litter bug red-handed, while emptying out the refuse bags on the side of the road and issued a R5000 fine to McDonald’s on KE Masinga Road on Monday August 14.

The fine for illegal dumping is in line with the city’s Nuisances and Behaviour in Public Places By-law which clearly states that illegal dumping is an offence and is prohibited in areas that fall 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 that the establishment was illegally dumping refuse bags on the side of the road,” said Colonel Zungu.

The swift action by Metro police officers led to the fining of the establishment’s manager.

When contacted by YOUR eThekwini, the outlet’s manager, who identified himself as Sandile Ndlovu, declined to comment.

Colonel Zungu said he hoped that 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. This is just one example of the number of fines that the City has issued to businesses and popular establishments since intensifying its fight against this scourge, said Colonel Zungu.

eThekwini spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana said littering and illegal dumping did not only hamper the city’s efforts to improve cleanliness, but it also had devastating impacts on the environment.

“The trash clogs up our stormwater drains and 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,” said Ms Sisilana.

Illegal dumping can be reported to the Cleansing and Solid Waste Department at 031 311 8804.