Environmental activists posing as Santa Claus have taken a stand against the Cadbury chocolate factory in Hobart this week.
The activists from Tasmania’s Grassroots Action Network were filmed flinging sacks of manure over the fence of the factory.
They are demanding accountability for the environmental and social issues which they say have landed the company on Santa’s naughty list.
It comes after sugary water from the factory entering a TasWater treatment plant caused a major sewage spill into the River Derwent last week.
Mondelez International, Cadbury’s parent company, is also accused of discharging ‘rotten egg gas’ into northern suburbs’ sewage network in July, which was identified after an odour in the Claremont area sparked an investigation.
The Grassroots Action Network claim Mondelez has ignored the Manufacturing Workers Union’s concerns “for years” in order to “maximise profits”.
“Their neglect of proper waste management procedures is posing serious risk to the health of Hobartians and untold damage to the health of our shared ecosystems,” the group said in a statement.
“With increasingly hot summers and an entire city unable to swim for extended periods over the school holidays, it’s clear that they don’t care about the people, the planet, or the law.”
“Some dung on a pavement isn’t really comparable to rivers of s**t but hey, someone’s gotta teach these kids a lesson.”
Mondelez say they are undertaking a $3 million upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant at their Cadbury factory.
