The decision to scrap proceedings against Garry Pettigrew and Healthcare Environmental Services Limited comes after 12 days of evidence at court hearings spread over almost a year, writes our correspondent, Michael McQuaid.
Pettigrew, 56, and the company were on trial over claims that waste was stored for longer than permitted and that Scottish Environment Protection Agency officers were obstructed in their duties.
The company employed 400 people at 13 UK sites including Shotts and Dundee.The trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that HES stored and processed waste from every hospital in Scotland and also had 40% of the English market.
It had an annual turnover of £35 million but went into liquidation in 2019 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The procurator fiscal decided there should be no further criminal proceedings at this time
- Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
SEPA
SEPA officers told the court they found bins full of human body parts and other organic waste piled up at the Shotts facility in Lanarkshire.
The material had allegedly remained untouched despite an order made for its removal.
But, giving evidence earlier this year, Pettigrew insisted storage was a UK-wide problem due to a lack of incinerators to burn waste.
The trial last heard evidence in May and was due to resume before Sheriff Liam Murphy today (12 October).
But the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service revealed it had been halted.
A spokesman said: “It is the duty of the Crown to keep cases under review and, following full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, the procurator fiscal decided there should be no further criminal proceedings at this time.
“The Crown reserves the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available.”
Evidence
Giving evidence, Pettigrew alleged the UK Government wanted him to break the law to tackle a storage crisis in the industry.
He said the then health secretary Matt Hancock directed firms to use unlicensed sites to get rid of mounting rubbish.
Pettigrew also accused SEPA of treating his staff “like gangsters” during the probe into the company.
He said he founded HES in 1997 but had to transport waste collected from hospitals to incinerators in England as Scotland has no such facilities.
Pettigrew said his solution was to construct a £13 million pyrolysis plant at Shotts where waste would be broken down using heated gas.
But his plans were frustrated by delays in SEPA dealing with a licence application.
He told his lawyer, advocate Thomas Ross KC: “SEPA treated us very poorly, they treated us like gangsters.”
Pettigrew explained that there were capacity issues at one of the company’s plants in England, prompting him to attend a meeting with Government officials in London in September 2018.
He said: “England’s Environment Agency gave dispensation for seven unlicensed sites to take waste. I told the Cabinet Office that was illegal and I would not do it.
“I asked if I would receive a ‘get out of jail free’ card but was told that I had seven days to comply or (then Prime Minister) Teresa May would know my name.
“They wanted to hide the situation from prying eyes. The UK Government, along with the Scottish Government, didn’t want to admit that the UK had an infrastructure issue.
“Matt Hancock, the health secretary at that time, chaired a Government Cobra meeting the next day to instigate putting these contingency plans in place.”
Rules
Pettigrew also said the Government changed the rules regarding exports to allow waste to be sent to mainland Europe.
He claimed HES’s reputation was then “dragged through the muck”.
Pettigrew said the Government instructed NHS Trusts not to make payments that were due to HES and ordered the company’s bank to withdraw its facilities.
In October 2018 he put £550,000 of his own money into HES as suppliers were demanding to be paid up front.
But in December the company could no longer afford to pay its workers and had to lay them off.
He told Mr Ross: “It was one of the hardest days of my life.”
Pettigrew said he had tried to sell HES as a going concern and was close to an £18 million deal with an Australian company, but claimed that was vetoed by the UK Government who said there would be no sale before a receiver was appointed.
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