Sharps Safety
Keep sharps separate from other waste in a secure sharps container.
Council recognises that some facilities may have a higher risk of finding sharps / needles / syringes than others. If you have identified that your facility is one of these “high-risk” areas, please contact Council and we will provide your group with tongs (nifti-nabbers), sharps containers, gloves, and bacterial wipes, and appropriate training in how to dispose of sharps.
If your facility does not fit into this category, and you come across sharps for the first time, please contact Council’s Customer Service Centre, and staff from Council will dispose of the sharps for you.
What not to do
Medical sharps, needles, and syringes should never be disposed of in domestic garbage or recycling collection bins. Incorrect disposal of medical sharps is dangerous to you, waste collectors, and the community. Keep sharps separate from other waste in a secure sharps container.
How to safely dispose of needles/sharps/syringes
If you find a needle/sharp/syringe in a public place your first option is to phone Council’s Customer Service Centre on 4921 0333 to report it, and staff from Council will dispose of the sharps for you.
Alternatively, remove sharps (syringes) using the following steps:
- Physically locate needle and/or syringe;
- Put medical gloves on both hands;
- Place a sharps container on the ground;
- Use tongs (nifti-nabbers) to pick up the needle and/or syringe and place needle end first into the container;
- Place any other injecting equipment into the sharps container;
- Wipe down the tongs with bacterial wipes and place wipes in sharps container using the tongs to push the wipes into the container if necessary.
- Remove the medical gloves by turning gloves inside out and place in sharps container. Use tongs to push gloves into the container where necessary;
- Close the sharps container.
When the sharps container is filled to the indicated line, it can be taken to the Council’s Health Centre at the Works Depot (Creek Reserve Road, Boolaroo, NSW) or other approved sharps disposal sites.
Council has also produced a Guide to the safe disposal of community sharps in Lake Macquarie
Page Last Updated: 28 May 2014