Finding surprises in recycling bin contents is not unusual for waste facility workers but after discovering 53 syringes in a day, management at a regional NSW centre is raising the alarm.
Key points:
- A waste facility has experienced a big rise in sharps dumped in recycling
- Workers who sort recycling by hand recently found 53 needles in one day
- A pharmacist says a lack of regional access to safe disposal sites could be one reason for the increase
Gilgandra waste facility operations manager Michael Hodge said the number of syringes in recycling was increasing, posing concerns for staff, some of whom live with disability and were employed under an NDIS-supported program.
Workers at the western NSW facility sort through residential recycling by hand.
Mr Hodge said workers have so far avoided any needle-stick injuries but 53 turning up in a day "could really rattle them and that’s something we don't need".
"It is recycling done by hand. That's the big thing," he said.
"The general public just need to take a minute out of their day to think, 'where do I put this? How do I dispose of this properly?'."
According to a NSW Health spokesperson, products are available for home use that snip, break or melt needles to reduce or eliminate the risk of sharps in waste.
They recommend all components of syringes that have had a needle removed or destroyed, or have a retractable needle, be placed in a sharps container and disposed of at a community sharps disposal facility.
Enough locations for safe sharps disposal?
The rise in unsafe needles in recycling has prompted a conversation about the number of sharps disposal facilities in regional NSW.
Under NSW environment protection legislation, sharps waste means items such as needles, syringes with needles, or surgical instruments.
The needle and syringe program in NSW aims to reduce the spread of blood-borne viruses like hepatitis C and HIV.
The program offers free sterile injecting equipment and locations for appropriate sharps disposal units.
However, if sharps users aren't aware of these locations, they can't rely on all pharmacists to accept them for safe disposal.
"There's not enough access to them because not every pharmacy does take them anymore," said Dubbo pharmacist Eliza Benson.
Her pharmacy, Dubbo Chempro Chemist, has a sharps disposal unit. She says she has regular users of the system but others may not be.
"It could be an access issue that people are having, that they can't return them, or it could be they're not aware of it either," she said.
"But if they're doing it under the needle and syringe program, if they bring it back to actually get rid of it in the correct manner, they get a free one in return.”
Recycling 'not the place for sharps'
The Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) said reducing the risk of people encountering sharps in the community is a shared responsibility.
But individual reports of more needles found incorrectly disposed of in natural waterways, parks, and even recycling, is a cause for concern.
"Inappropriate disposal of community sharps may pose a health and safety risk to the public, council employees, waste contractors and resource recovery operators involved with municipal waste and recycling," they said.
For Gilgandra Waste Facility, safety remains an issue they hope sharps users will be more conscious of.
"Just try and [dispose them] properly," Mr Hodge said.
"The recycling bin is not the place for sharps."