| The unused needles were discovered — apparently dumped — just feet from the footpath between Mid Craigie and Whitfield, near the bridge over the Dighty off Happyhillock Road.
The syringes were marked with the word “insulin” and surrounded by other paraphernalia, including sterile foil cups and citric acid wipes.
A concerned reader e-mailed the Tele to let us know about his discovery last week.
The 16-year-old, who does not wish to be named, said he and a friend had been walking from Happyhillock Road towards Whitfield when they spotted the needles in the bushes.
He was retrieving a football from the bushes when he discovered the stash just feet from the path.
“This is obviously very dangerous because local children play in the area and it’s also popular with dog walkers,” he said.
“This is unacceptable and needs to be dealt with.”
The Tele immediately reported the find to Dundee City Council, and their cleansing department was quickly on the scene to clear up the mess.
But a spokesperson for NHS Tayside confirmed the needles were of the kind handed out to drug abusers by the city’s needle exchanges.
These needles are typically marked “insulin” — even though they are brand new and do not contain the hormone.
The syringes were empty, with each needle covered by a factory-applied orange plastic guard.
It’s thought they had been collected from one of the city’s eight needle exchanges. One 2008 estimate suggested around 15,000 needles were distributed by needle exchanges in Dundee each month.
A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said, “Advice to anyone finding items such as this is to contact the council and arrangements will be made to safely remove and dispose of them.”
Tayside Police advise anyone who finds needles to report them to the council’s waste management team on 01382 433063, their local community safety warden by calling 01382 436333, or, outwith office hours, to the police on 0300 111 2222.
They say that anyone injuring themselves with a needle should not rub or suck the area, and instead gently squeeze the surrounding area to promote bleeding, before washing with lots of soap and hot water and seeking urgent medical attention.
Users of needles should not carelessly discard them in areas where members of the public could get injured.
They should dispose of any needles in a sharps box at a needle exchange point. |
