Trial hears investigator found human body parts illegally stored during visit to Shotts plant

An environmental investigator has informed how he discovered bins filled with human physique components and different natural waste piled up illegally at a storage facility.

The hazardous materials had allegedly remained untouched regardless of an order made weeks beforehand for its elimination.

Garry Pettigrew, 55, and Healthcare Environmental Providers Restricted are on trial over the alleged unlawful storage of physique components and different supplies.

Pettigrew was managing director of the Lanarkshire agency which went into liquidation in 2019 after shedding NHS contracts in Scotland and England.

Greater than 200 folks labored at its crops in Shotts, and Dundee. The corporate saved and processed waste from each hospital in Scotland.

Hamilton Sheriff Courtroom heard that officers from the Scottish Surroundings Safety Company made a collection of visits to the Shotts facility from late 2018 onwards due to considerations over storage.

Emma Jeffrey, prosecuting, confirmed pictures of an enormous fridge filled with bins that contained "anatomical and pathological waste".

Dated labels prompt that bins had been saved for longer than the statutory three-month restrict.

Medical waste piled up on the plant in Shotts and at hospitals and well being centres (Picture: Every day File)

SEPA officer Mike Smith stated: "We visited with a purpose to assess compliance with the location's allow.

"We had been additionally assessing the potential influence on the surroundings and human well being, on condition that waste had been saved there for a time period."

An enforcement discover ordering the elimination of the bins, in addition to different medical waste contained in 17 lorry trailers, was served on the corporate in March 2019.

Mr Smith stated he returned to the location the next month and once more in Might 2019 and located that the order had not been complied with.

Garry Pettigrew, Managing Director of Healthcare Environmental Providers (Picture: UGC)

He informed the courtroom: "There had been no change in anyway to the contents of the fridge - no indication that any waste had been eliminated.

"The trailers exterior didn't seem to have been moved both."

By this time the corporate was in liquidation and no work was happening on the web site.

The courtroom heard beforehand that, throughout a row with SEPA officers, Pettigrew threatened to return hazardous waste to hospitals and dump it in automobile parks.

(Picture: DailyRecord/ WS)

SEPA officers additionally claimed that he obstructed their investigation, refusing them entry to the Shotts and Dundee crops and failing at hand over firm paperwork.

Thomas Ross, defending, stated his consumer's firm had skilled difficulties due to the unavailability of incineration crops in England the place waste was often taken after being processed.

The trial earlier than Sheriff Liam Murphy was adjourned till subsequent month.

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