From: Ian blenkharn@ianblenkharn.com
Category: Miscellaneous
Date: 24 Feb 2008
Time: 08:28:14 +0100
Remote Name: 86.134.111.135
"Workers are being put at risk by a growing number of needles being thrown out in recycling bins, say council bosses. Over the past seven weeks, 80 syringes and 193 needles have been found by recycling staff at Exeter's materials reclamation facility in Marsh Barton.
"Three full sharps boxes, two bags containing syringes and stained wipes, and a needle were also found in a trade waste bag.
"The city council is now urging needle-users to be responsible when disposing of them.
With such large collections of syringes & needles, allegedly from trade waste, these may have come from some manufacturing or assembly company using syringes for entirely innocuous purposes unrelated to anything that may result in them being reasonably classified as clinical waste. Equally, there may have been a diabetic working there, it may have been a bio-research lab or veterinary establishment, etc. We just don't know, and of course neither do those who find themselves unexpectedly faced by these things.
But it does highlight the inevitable fact, often overlooked, that syringes and needles identical to those used in healthcare, turn up in all sorts of situations. Quite legitimately, the are supplied in inkjet refill kits, some adhesive products, in horticulture products and others.
It's a real, and practical problem, that has been the cause of at least one "needlestick" injury. I was involved in that case, which resulted in a need for medical care and follow-up, considerable anxiety for the person suffering injury, and a costly negligence claim against a company in circumstances where one of its staff had perhaps reasonably used an inkjet refill kit and put the syringe and needle in a waste paper basket.