Central Scotland MSPs have slammed an announcement that clinical waste from Scottish hospitals is to be sent 250 miles away to Wales.
MSP and former East Kilbride councillor, Graham Simpson, said it flies in the face of green pledges made by the SNP government at Holyrood.
Mr Simpson put a question about the destination of clinical waste under the new contract to the health secretary Jeane Freeman.
And it was revealed following the closure of Lanarkshire-based Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) which previously dealt with the medical waste, ministers have struck a new deal with Spanish-owned disposal firm Tradebe.
Under that arrangement, significant levels of waste will now be transferred to the firm’s plant in north Wales.
The health secretary confirmed that all “yellow bag” waste – which contains sharps materials like syringes – will go to Wrexham permanently.
And “orange bag” waste – comprising items contaminated with bodily fluids – will also be sent to Wales until a new arrangement in Bellshill is up-and-running.
Mr Simpson said: “No sooner had Nicola Sturgeon announced a climate emergency than her government confirms plans to send clinical waste 250 miles away.
“That has an obvious negative impact on the environment, yet her SNP administration presses ahead with it anyway.
“It exposes the ‘climate emergency’ as a gimmick – it was clearly something thought up on the hoof which she will now live to regret.”
He added: “Instead of making unconvincing statements about saving the planet, the nationalists would be better finding ways to safely dispose of all our clinical waste here, in a way that helps the economy and protects the environment.”
And Labour’s Monica Lennon has also hit out at the decision.
She said: “Scottish Labour has repeatedly called for greater scrutiny of the clinical waste scandal and its financial cost to the NHS in Lanarkshire and across the country, which continues to grow by the day.
“There must be an inquiry into what has gone wrong, and for proper scrutiny to take place over the SNP’s decision to award a £100 million of public funds to another private firm.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “There is no bigger priority than tackling climate change, and the first minister has made clear that we will take action to ensure Scotland continues to be recognised as a world leader in this area.
“As part of the procurement process all tenders were assessed and scored on their environmental impact.”
