Calrecycle have reported a collection of sharps-related incidents reported in the news:

• Boy, 7, pricks himself with a syringe he found on an Oakland play yard
• Beach Closed After Hypodermic Needles Found Washing In
• Hundreds of needles found at a Clark County Recycling Center
• City Workers Pricked By Dirty Needles
• Beach Debris Still a Mystery; 77 Syringes Wash Up on S.I.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg. But of course its not only in the US and here at home that these problems occur:

see Sea, sand and syringes at Fort Kochi Beach