The company boss threatened to dump hazardous waste in hospital car parks during a row with environmental chiefs, a court heard yesterday (2 November), writes our correspondent, Michael McQuaid.
Garry Pettigrew, 55, who was managing director of the firm when it went into liquidation in 2019, allegedly made the comment after failing to hand over documents from his waste processing plant.
Prosecutors also claim that he obstructed an investigation by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
[update 01/03/2023, in February 2023 the SEPA officer conceded that allegations about the dumping threat were erroneous. See: letsrecycle.com story]
Thomas Ross, defending, said his client’s company had been experiencing difficulties because of the unavailability of incineration plants in England where waste was usually taken after being processed.
Contracts
The company went into liquidation in 2019 after losing NHS contracts in Scotland and England.
More than 200 people worked at its plants in Shotts, Lanarkshire, and Dundee. The company stored and processed waste from every hospital in Scotland.
Shona McConnell, a senior manager with SEPA, told Hamilton Sheriff Court about a “confrontation” she had with Pettigrew in December 2018 after two of her officers were refused entry to the Shotts premises.
She said: “We had heard there was potential disruption to collections from hospitals and primary care settings because the company was no longer operating.
“I wanted to get eyes on the site because I knew how much waste had been building up in previous months.
“It was quite confrontational. We were told we had five minutes to leave.”
Car park
Later, Ms McConnell said, Pettigrew contacted SEPA to say “it was his intention to deposit waste back in hospital car parks”.
The witness added: “We had to explain to him his duties as holder of the waste permit and that he would be breaking the law if he chose to do this.”
Ms McConnell also told of a threat Pettigrew allegedly made after the company faced an enforcement notice for failing to produce waste records.
She stated: “He said that he would negate the need for enforcement action by suspending operations at the company sites in Shotts and Dundee.
“I was concerned and quite alarmed by this because I knew of the situation in Scotland in relation to health care waste.
“Some places had only 12 hours capability for waste storage before it would impact on service delivery.
“It was Friday afternoon and if there were no weekend collections it would have a significant impact on the situation the following week.”
Ms McConnell said Pettigrew later backed down on his threat.
She told Emma Jeffrey, prosecuting, she didn’t believe his claim that documents could not be produced because they had been shredded by mistake.
Ms McConnell said: “It would not be easy to do that because there were huge amounts of paperwork.”
It’s alleged that large quantities of waste were stored at Shotts in areas with insufficient capacity and for longer than is permitted by law.
Charges state that “hazardous clinical waste consisting of recognisable body parts, tissue and organs” was stored at room temperature for more than the 12-hour time limit.
Limits
Prosecutors also say “anatomical and pathological waste” was kept in refrigerators for longer than the three-month limit.
It’s further claimed that waste was kept in storage when it should have been incinerated.
A separate charge relates to the firm’s premises in Dundee where “large quantities of waste were stored for longer than is allowed”.
Three trailers containing waste were allegedly broken into there.
Access
Pettigrew is further accused of hindering or obstructing SEPA officers.
I was aware of issues in England and there had been some disruption in Scotland
- Wendy Rayner, NHS Scotland’s national sustainability manager
It’s alleged he refused them access to the Shotts and Dundee plants, failed to produce copies of documents and failed to hand over a list of company employees.
Wendy Rayner, NHS Scotland’s national sustainability manager, said the company warned in December 2018 that it might be unable to service its contracts as normal.
She said: “I was aware of issues in England and there had been some disruption in Scotland. I would say the company worked extremely hard to manage the schedule.
“Contingency plans were drawn up by NHS Scotland when it was made aware of these issues.”
Ms Rayner said medical waste is “incredibly expensive to dispose of”, but she rejected any suggestion that staff struggled to separate hazardous and non-hazardous items.
The witness insisted: “The systems in place are robust. Segregation happens routinely and correctly. The number of anomalies that require additional training is small.”
The trial has been adjourned and will continue in December.
Subscribe for free