The Environment Agency has announced it has launched a “criminal investigation” relating to the breach of environmental permits by Healthcare Environmental Services, saying the company has acted “unlawfully”.
And in a crucial twist to the case, the Agency has revealed that it has found there is “industry-wide agreement” that there is sufficient capacity for incineration of hazardous waste. One of Healthcare Environmental Services own reasons for its situation is thought to be because it considers there is insufficient availability of incinerator capacity to the company for various reasons.
Healthcare Environmental’s southern offices near Wakefield
The Environment Agency action follows comments last week by the government confirming that measures had been introduced to help tackle a backlog of clinical waste for incineration (see letsrecycle.com story).
In a statement, the Agency said that Healthcare Environmental services the NHS and operates six sites across England, has been found in breach of environmental permits. It added: “The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is leading on the government response whilst the EA is taking enforcement action against the operator.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “The Environment Agency has found Healthcare Environmental Services to be in breach of its environmental permits at sites which deal with clinical waste. We are taking enforcement action against the operator, which includes clearance of the excess waste, and have launched a criminal investigation.
“We are supporting the Government and the NHS to ensure there is no disruption to public services and for alternative plans to be put in place for hospitals affected to dispose of their waste safely.”
Permits breach
The Agency has found Healthcare Environmental Services in breach of its environmental permits at four of its six sites which deal with clinical waste – by having more waste on site than their permit allows and storing waste inappropriately.
Enforcement action is being taken against the operator to clear the excess waste from the sites and to bring the company back into compliance with its permits.
As part of the enforcement activity, the Agency has partially suspended the company’s permit at one of its sites which will prevent it from accepting any more incinerator-only waste in order for Healthcare Environmental to clear the backlog of waste on-site. Enforcement action is being progressed at the other non-compliant sites.
The Agency confirmed that alternative plans are in place for hospitals affected to “dispose of their waste safely”. And, in line with comments from government, the Agency emphasised that “the offending sites are not accessible to the general public and there is no risk to public health or the environment”.
Giving further details of the situation with Healthcare Environmental Services on Friday 5 October, the Agency said that it is the company’s responsibility “to clear its sites and operate legally. As the regulator, we have set out a timeline for clearance of the waste and are carrying out regular inspections at each of the company’s sites to monitor the situation.”
Incinerator capacity
There is industry wide agreement that overall there is sufficient incineration capacity. Incinerator shutdowns do occur for maintenance, but this is mostly planned and companies should have contingency plans in place. We have recently carried out an audit of permitted sites dealing with clinical waste which indicate a high level of compliance in this sector – the majority of sites are operating at the expected level or above.
Grundon
One of the companies working with the Agency to help with the clinical waste backlog which has a high temperature incinerator (HTI) as part of the cluster of facilities within its Colnbrook complex east of Slough, Berkshire.
The company told letsrecycle.com that it is “working closely with the Environment Agency and NHS Improvement to help provide a secure disposal route for a significant volume of clinical waste from sites operated by Healthcare Environmental Group.”
Grundon’s Lakeside plant at Heathrow which has a high temperature incinerator for clinical waste and a standard energy from waste plant for municipal waste
In a statement the company said that “Consignments of this material are now being accepted at Grundon’s HTI, which offers a safe and controlled environment for managing clinical waste. The facility operates to the highest professional standards. It is fully permitted, controlled and monitored under the terms of its existing waste management permit.”
Jonathan Harris, general manager – technical, at Grundon commented: “Grundon is well positioned to make a significant contribution towards resolving the current issues resulting from the backlog of clinical waste. We are offering all the support we can to the Environment Agency, the NHS, and Healthcare Environmental Group, to make sure these materials are treated swiftly, and in full compliance with all the appropriate regulations. Our industry-leading high temperature incinerator already plays a significant role, both regionally and nationally, in safely and efficiently managing a range of clinical, hazardous and special wastes.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
