It seems to be a particular affliction for American beaches, that so often they suffer from clinical and related wastes washed up on the tide. This time it’s Slaughter Beach in Delaware, where debris continues to arrive on the shore with each tide. Large tree branches and twigs started showing up Sunday. Mixed in the vegetation are used condoms, female hygiene products, medical waste, food wrappers, plastic bottles and bottle caps.

Perhaps this really does come in on the tide, but it would not be unlikely that such waste comes from local beach users, with waste items caught up within the more predictable detritus on the strand line.

Of course, the greatest risk is from used needles and related drug litter. This is discarded by IV drug users who might find a quiet spot on the beach and then drop their used gear into the sand. This is quickly covered but lurks menacingly within soft sand to trap unwary beach users who might suffer a sharps injury while walking barefoot in the sand. In the UK, several such cases have been reported, and this is perhaps the tip of a substantial iceberg as few might recognise the cause of injury resulting in many incidents going unreported.

http://www.wboc.com/story/15516126/needles-on-beaches