'Contaminated waste' - Questions raised over needle disposal in the city

A good Samaritan faced a number of hurdles trying to safely dispose of discarded needles that were left recklessly in his community. 

He spoke to Council and pharmacists about how to safely dispose the material but ended up having to carry the detritus around Waterford City on public transport. 

Councillor Donal Barry spoke about this issue at the July meeting of the Waterford Metropolitan Council. 

He said: "I'm requesting clarification regarding policy and procedures for the safe collection and disposal or discarded needles found in public spaces in Waterford City recently."

Cllr Barry spoke of a 'civic-minded resident' who collected a large amount of discarded needles from outside his home and surrounding street in the interest of public safety. The man contacted Cllr Barry about properly disposing the needles. 

Cllr Barry stated: "In fairness, the Council, sent out someone but they said they couldn't collect them from him. They gave him a box to collect the shards and a picker to put them in.

"He was told to bring them to a pharmacy, which he duly did. When he arrived at the pharmacy, they were looking €10 to dispose of them and then he was pulled aside and asked if they were for his own personal use."

The awkward situation meant that the man had to take away the dirty syringes and ravel home with them on public transport. 

Cllr Barry continued: "It ended up that the needles, the syringes and the sharps were now brought back home to the man's house, on pubic transport. What is the policy? Who's responsible for the disposal of them if they're picked up or seen by the public?"

Senior Executive Officer at the Environment Department Dawn Wallace responded: "Needles are obviously treated as contaminated waste. So the reason why nobody would take them from you is because they wouldn't want to be double-handling those.

"My understanding, and I'm waiting for confirmation, is that there is a needle exchange facility at the HSE on the Cork Road and that would have been the ultimate place to return them to."

Waterford Local Health Office has been contacted for clarification.