Refuse collector's 6 months of 'terror' after jab by thrown away needle
A refuse collector has spoken of his agonising six-month wait to discover if he has been infected by a dirty hypodermic needle thrown away in a bin bag.
The man from Cornwall, who wishes to remain anonymous, has to wait until after Christmas to learn if he has contracted infections such as HIV or hepatitis.
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He described the horrifying moment he picked up the black bag from the side of the road in the Penwith area and felt a sharp jab in the right calve.
He said: "I immediately knew I'd been pricked by something and saw the needle poking through the side of the bin bag.
"When I saw the needle sticking out of the sack I was terrified as I never thought something like that would ever happen to me.
"I had to have blood taken and I hate injections or inoculations at any time. But it's the fear of the unknown until the six months has elapsed.
"All my family are really concerned about what's happened and are supporting me."
Cornwall Council is appealing to householders to make sure they get rid of other sharp objects such as broken glass and large metal items safely.
Julian German, the council's member for waste management, climate change and historic environment, said: "Every year a number of our waste collection staff are injured by needles, broken glass, jagged pieces of metal and other sharp objects that are left with household waste in ordinary refuse sacks.
"There seems to be an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude, with some people assuming that once they've put something in a black sack that's the end of things.
"Any injury is upsetting, but needlestick injuries are particularly distressing as there is a risk of infection and a period of months before test results are available."
Sharps boxes are available from GPs and health centres for householders who need to dispose of needles, and collection of full sharps boxes free of charge can be arranged by ringing the council.
Small amounts of broken glass should be wrapped securely in several layers of newspaper or a cardboard box and put out next to household waste clearly marked and visible to the refuse collectors.
For larger pieces of glass and other bulky sharp objects, take them to one of the council's household waste and recycling centres or arrange a separate collection.
Cornwall Council's head of waste management Dave Owens said: "Anyone who is in any doubt about how to dispose of an item safely should ring us. We'll be happy to advise on the best method."
5 Comments
by TimV, Pz
Tuesday, August 03 2010, 4:00PM
“This story reveals but one "tip" of an odious and corrosive social problem requiring radical and decisive action. Particularly for the younger generation, drugs have become a pervasive and destructive feature of life. It is the dark underbody of society, with all its criminal, economic and heath consequences, the rest of us prefer to ignore and leave to the police and other agencies, until it impacts on us personally. Drugs are an international multi-billion dollar industry. It is fuelled by demand. Why young people turn to them - for kicks, out of inquisitiveness, peer pressure, unhappiness or desperation - are the fundamental causes and motivators, but it has to be recognised that old approaches, and particularly criminalisation, have not worked. We need to get real and bring drugs out of the shadows and licence them, whilst introducing a regime of compulsory treatment for the addict of heroin. This requires a limitation on personal freedom but the evils and costs imposed on society and the individual by not doing so, warrants it.”
by Steve, Camborne
Monday, August 02 2010, 6:48PM
“Penwith DO have wheelie bins Mike, unfortunately they also have a huge Junkie population and its not the only place that does. The problem is Junkies don't give two hoots how they dispose of their filthy needles. At work we have a site where we have to send contractors to clean the needles up every 3 months, which normally involves picking up needles by the hundered, the crazy thing is there is also shars disposal boxes scattered all over the floor by them.”
by Julia Forrest, Cornwall
Monday, August 02 2010, 5:08PM
“Not to worry,he's only a Public Sector worker.”
by David, St Austell
Monday, August 02 2010, 2:34PM
“As most drug addicts care only about where the next fix is coming from events like this will happen again. Why cannot some people enjoy life without the use of chemicals they know to be harmful and addictive?”
by Mike Hunt, St Awfull
Saturday, July 31 2010, 10:29AM
“If we used the system of wheelie bins then this wouldn't happen, also it would cut the need to dump black bin liners into landfill.”