‘Mountain’ of unused PPE dumped in nature reserve
Ewan Somerville
Sun, 18 June 2023
Local MP has condemned the 'unauthorised disposal of such a huge quantity of medical aprons' - Simon Czapp/Solent News & Photo Agency
Thousands of packs of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been found dumped in a mountainous heap in the New Forest.
Pictures show hoards of aprons and suspected face masks left in a giant pile in the town of Calmore, bordering the Testwood Lakes Nature Reserve and AFC Totton Football Club.
The “large-scale” discovery was made public at a Hampshire County Council (HCC) meeting, where councillors said they reacted with “horror” and are demanding answers, though it is not yet known if the items are linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, the Department for Health and Social Care spent £15 billion on PPE that proved unusable and is now being burned, including masks and gowns for NHS staff, prompting Whitehall’s spending watchdog to condemn the “extraordinary waste”.
Now, a report from the HCC’s regulatory committee has revealed that the discovery was made following an investigation by New Forest District Council into use of land at Little Testwood Farm Caravan Park, Hants.
The report said: “Following their own investigations into the use of land as a caravan park, New Forest District Council reported the large-scale storage of packs of old PPE.
“It became apparent that thousands of packs of medical aprons had been dumped on the land with no obvious signs that they were being protected or stored for some future use.
“The concern is that they have been dumped with no intention of removal to a proper facility.”
Councillor Peter Latham, the chairman of the committee, said: “It was a surprise to put it mildly – a reaction of horror. That something like that could have happened in Hampshire and nobody knew about it.”
Mr Latham, who has been chair of the Regulatory Committee for six years, added: “I’ve never seen anything like this before. None of us have.”
The council has now launched an “enforcement activity” with the Environment Agency, police and New Forest District Council to establish who is responsible and “whether it was discarded by a Health Trust as substandard during the Covid procurement”.
Julian Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, said: “The unauthorised disposal of such a huge quantity of medical aprons should be relatively easy to investigate and its history traced.
“One long-term lesson from all this is that never again should the United Kingdom be caught without strategic reserve stocks of protective medical clothing.”
A spokesman for the Environment Agency confirmed its officials were due to visit the site next week, adding: “We are unable to comment further in order to not prejudice any investigations or subsequent enforcement decisions.”
Ewan Somerville
Sun, 18 June 2023
Local MP has condemned the 'unauthorised disposal of such a huge quantity of medical aprons' - Simon Czapp/Solent News & Photo Agency
Thousands of packs of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been found dumped in a mountainous heap in the New Forest.
Pictures show hoards of aprons and suspected face masks left in a giant pile in the town of Calmore, bordering the Testwood Lakes Nature Reserve and AFC Totton Football Club.
The “large-scale” discovery was made public at a Hampshire County Council (HCC) meeting, where councillors said they reacted with “horror” and are demanding answers, though it is not yet known if the items are linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, the Department for Health and Social Care spent £15 billion on PPE that proved unusable and is now being burned, including masks and gowns for NHS staff, prompting Whitehall’s spending watchdog to condemn the “extraordinary waste”.
Now, a report from the HCC’s regulatory committee has revealed that the discovery was made following an investigation by New Forest District Council into use of land at Little Testwood Farm Caravan Park, Hants.
The report said: “Following their own investigations into the use of land as a caravan park, New Forest District Council reported the large-scale storage of packs of old PPE.
“It became apparent that thousands of packs of medical aprons had been dumped on the land with no obvious signs that they were being protected or stored for some future use.
“The concern is that they have been dumped with no intention of removal to a proper facility.”
Councillor Peter Latham, the chairman of the committee, said: “It was a surprise to put it mildly – a reaction of horror. That something like that could have happened in Hampshire and nobody knew about it.”
Mr Latham, who has been chair of the Regulatory Committee for six years, added: “I’ve never seen anything like this before. None of us have.”
The council has now launched an “enforcement activity” with the Environment Agency, police and New Forest District Council to establish who is responsible and “whether it was discarded by a Health Trust as substandard during the Covid procurement”.
Julian Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, said: “The unauthorised disposal of such a huge quantity of medical aprons should be relatively easy to investigate and its history traced.
“One long-term lesson from all this is that never again should the United Kingdom be caught without strategic reserve stocks of protective medical clothing.”
A spokesman for the Environment Agency confirmed its officials were due to visit the site next week, adding: “We are unable to comment further in order to not prejudice any investigations or subsequent enforcement decisions.”
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