Syringes dumped on a street

POLICE could lay charges against two people who dumped thousands of used syringes on a Hervey Bay street yesterday.

A male health worker who went to collect the nine bags containing the items suffered a needle stick injury and now faces a lengthy wait for disease test results.

The 75 x 75cm bags were left at a Torquay Road facility where people are encouraged to place syringes in a designated safety bin for collection.

But the sheer number of sharps could not fit into the bin and therefore the owner just dumped the bags on the street outside a Pialba dental surgery, police said.

Acting Detective Sergeant Glen Dehnert from the CIB said the number of used syringes “defied belief”.

“The bags were chock-a-block full of syringes,” he said.

“There were thousands. Some were stored correctly in sharps boxes but others were not.”

Police were called to the scene about 10.30am yesterday and were able to identify where the bags came from.

They spoke to a man and a woman who had allegedly dumped the bags after cleaning out their Pialba home.

“The matter is still being investigated as to whether police can press charges against anyone for any wrongdoing.”