“Westminster council today issued a public safety alert as it accused a “handful” of clinics of failing to dispose of potentially hazardous waste safely.

“It came after council street wardens on routine patrols in the area discovered plastic refuse bags whose sides were punctured by used syringes.

“Other discoveries included a sack of pig heads – apparently used by medics to practise on, due to similarities between pig skin and human skin – and bags of used drips, vials of medicine and bloodied tissues.

“Two firms have already been successfully prosecuted and five others are being investigated by the council, with one due in court later this month in what has been a growing problem since the start of the year.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/scandal-of-dumped-harley-street-medical-waste-8564308.html

Westminster Council has a deserved reputation for tough dealing with waste and other issues, so its no surprise that these civil enforcement fines have been imposed, and prosecutions have followed. Presumably, the issue was that wastes were presented at the wrong time, since sooner or later it would have to be left on the curtilage for collection. In Harley Street and surrounding street there are no gardens and front doors open almost directly to the pavement so there can be no question about where the wastes were placed, only when.

The picture, reproduced from the Evening Standard, is confusing. Why red bags? Why syringes – and we might assume needles also, in waste sacks. But if the needles had been separated, why breach now universal safety rules to dismount needles instead of placing them intact into a sharps bin? And why so many pig snouts, commonly used for basic surgical training when there is no training establishment in the area?