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The DA is most concerned that, despite warnings sounded, and despite the uncovering of tons of illegally dumped medical waste in the Free State, the Department of Environmental Affairs has done little, if anything, to ensure the control of the almost completely unaddressed crisis in the health care risk waste sector.

In the Eastern Cape, in particular, a further manifestation of the crisis is imminent. The contract awarded annually by the provincial Department of Health for removal and treatment of heath care risk waste from provincial hospitals and clinics expires on 31 March. To date no new award of the contract has occurred. Bid documents issued in December 2009 were, disturbingly, based on outdated legislative requirements and standards. In addition, numerous vague and ambiguous requirements allowed for inexperienced operators to bid at lower prices than those experienced and responsible operators who use appropriate and safe methods of health care risk waste handling. In many cases, compliance with the latest standards for waste handling would disqualify a bidder.

The bid has subsequently been cancelled, thanks to the intervention, via the high court, of one of the bidders. The Department of Health will, it appears, now be contracting for the disposal of health care risk waste on a month to month basis without following due process.

In the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, the biggest city in the Eastern Cape, the incinerator used to treat medical waste failed in September 2008. No attempt has been made by the authorities to repair or replace the facility. A transfer station for health care risk waste was closed by government authorities at the end of January. All health care risk waste from this metro must now be transported immediately to East London for autoclaving or, in the case of anatomical, pharmaceutical and liquid waste, to Bloemfontein for incineration. (At present, there are only five incinerators available to treat health care risk waste for South Africa. These incinerators are in the Western Cape, the North West, Gauteng and the Free State.) The DA has been informed that the massively increased costs of safe disposal have resulted in a substantial drop in volumes handled by service providers. What is happening to the waste previously disposed of safely is anyone's guess.

In October 2009, my colleague Gareth Morgan MP warned in a media statement: "The illegal dumping and storage of medical waste in South Africa is verging on a national crisis. South Africa generates 35% more waste than can be handled, and as much as 800 tons of medical waste is believed to be illegally dumped each year in the country. The Health Care Waste Forum (HCWF), under the auspices of the Institute of Waste Management of South Africa, has said that the current situation could lead to a "major disaster"."

(The media statement was accompanied by a discussion document entitled "A Bloody Mess - A DA discussion document on addressing problems in the medical waste sector".)

The Waste Act 59 of 2008 provides for the control of the disposal of health care risk waste. The Act, however, does not place the onus on any public or private body or organisation to ensure that adequate facilities are available for such disposal. In the absence of such a statutory onus, who does the Department of Environmental Affairs look to, to take the lead in this regard?

Both municipalities and provinces must be required, in their respective Integrated Waste Management Plans, to identify the need for the safe disposal of health care risk waste, and to pursue options to achieve such safe disposal. Clearly, this is not occurring on a meaningful scale.

The DA has raised numerous questions to the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, and has received disappointing responses, none of which are indicative of a sense of urgency in dealing with the fact that health care risk waste that is improperly disposed of has the potential to seriously harm or to kill. The DA will continue to utilise all the tools at its disposal to force the responsible authorities to take the long overdue and unquestionably necessary action to ensure the safe disposal of this waste.