MOREE Plains Shire Council has moved to address the problem of dumped syringes in the city centre with the installation of 11 new disposal bins.
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Environmental health officer Belinda Olsen said access to the free disposal service would benefit many people, including those who required syringes for medical conditions or used them on animals and livestock, and at the same time would provide a degree of protection to workers and members of the local community.
Four 240-litre metal community sharps disposal bins have been installed in areas that are easily accessible and in places frequented by
residents, travellers and those required to medically self-inject – at the council depot carpark in Tycannah St, the Balo Square Shopping Centre car park, the waste management facility and the tourist information centre.
Seven smaller disposal bins (20-litre) are going into known hot spots where high numbers of sharps have been found carelessly disposed of and all public toilets have single-syringe disposal units fitted.
“Council has installed large and small sharps disposal bins in areas that are accessible and most frequented so that discarding needles and syringes is done in a manner that protects users, workers and community members, particularly children,” Mrs Olsen said.
“We want to keep everyone in our community safe from accidental injury, so we urge people to place sharps in approved containers and use the specially marked sharps disposal bins.
“Never put community sharps in public litter bins, in household waste or recycling or flush them down the toilet.”