Huge mountain of PPE to be removed from New Forest field
Thousands of packs of medical aprons were discovered
The Environment Agency imposed a deadline to remove thousands of pieces of PPE kits found in a New Forest campsite.
The Little Testwood Farm caravan park owners at Totton must empty the site by September.
Thousands of old personal protective equipment were discovered during a New Forest District Council officer’s investigation into the use of the land at Little Testwood Farm.
The findings were presented in a regulatory committee last June in which the report described thousands of packs of medical aprons which were “dumped on the land with no obvious signs that they were being protected or stored for some future use”.
At the committee meeting, officers said the haul was “hidden away” down the back and was difficult to access, adding: “It is a really good example of where there has been an illegal dumping of waste.”
HCC contacted the EA, and an investigation started involving all parts. Now, EA Investigators will see whether the PPE was procured as part of the Covid-19 response, whether the items were defective, and how and why the equipment ended up in the forest.
As part of the ongoing investigation with Hampshire County Council and the New Forest District Council, the Environment Agency has imposed a number of conditions on the landowner of the campsite. One of these conditions is that the site must be completely cleared by September 6.
An Environment Agency spokesman said, “As part of an ongoing investigation into the storage of PPE on private land in the New Forest, we have set a number of conditions on the company responsible, including the site be completely cleared of the material by September 6.
“The PPE is in the process of being removed, and our specialist officers are monitoring progress to ensure no environmental impact on land or water.
“The company concerned is making good progress in removing all of the PPE, but specialist Environment Agency officers continue to monitor the site.”
“Anyone with new environmental concerns about the site at Little Testwood Farm at Calmore can call our 24-hour incident hotline: 0800 807060.”