BREAKING NEWS: Used needles dumped in Emmarentia Park
EMMARENTIA – the waste included needles, syringes and medicine bottles (some with small amounts of liquid still inside)
A group of women walking through Emmarentia Dam Park earlier today, were shocked to discover an alarming quantity of medical waste lying in plain sight.
One of the women, who chose not to be named, spoke exclusively to Northcliff Melville Times. She said that the waste was lying on the path, only about 10 metres from the entrance gate.
“We came across Clifford, one of the security guards, and he was trying to collect the waste into a small bag. We then assisted him to get it into other bags, and one of the other women took it to the pharmacy to be disposed of,” she said.
She also stated that the group had discovered another bag under a tree further inside the park, that also contained medical waste.
According to Shara Theunissen from Tyrone Clinic, the waste included needles, syringes and medicine bottles (some with small amounts of liquid still inside). She said it amounted to about 3kgs of waste, which was a lot, even by medical standards.
“This is extremely reckless of whoever dumped this waste. Anyone who came into contact with it could have been injured, or infected by diseases like HIV and Hepatitis,” she said.
The waste will now be collected by a medical waste removal company and be incinerated.
This is a developing story – more information will follow as it becomes available.
