MILWAUKEE — Workers are being put at-risk by people who use needles and just toss them in the trash.
"It literally is kind of like a needle in a haystack," said Dan Jongetjes, general manager at Johns Disposal Service in Racine County.
Johns Disposal Service in Racine County collects trash and recycling from all over southeast Wisconsin.
It comes by the tons, but needles hidden in the mix are a real risk for workers on the sorting line.
"Our guys will immediately hit the emergency stop. We will try to recover as many as we can, get them out of the material," said Jongetjes.
Jongetjes says it does not happen as often now, but he recalls employees finding plastic milk jugs filled with needles. It has been more than a year since one of their workers got stuck by a needle.
"When we do have somebody that gets stuck by a needle. They don't know where it came from, the history of it. So that's kind of a stress for the guys," said Jongetjes.
He believes the combination of automated systems, education across communities, and a more needle collection sites have contributed to the drop in incidents.
Jennifer Semrau, the waste reduction and diversion coordinator for Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources, says putting sharps in recycling or trash streams is illegal.
DNR surveyed the state's recycling facilities in 2019 and found 40 percent of them said needles, also called "sharps," are one of the top contaminants.
"We’re talking about potentially infectious waste and so recognizing that other people will be interacting with those syringes and needles. We really just want to protect our collection and sanitation workers," said Semrau.
To get rid of needles safely you can start with the DNR's new interactive sharps collection map. There you can find locations that sell designated containers and drop off sites. At this point it includes more than 300 sites, and the DNR is working to add more.
If you do not have a designated sharps container you can use a rigid plastic container, one that is puncture-resistant like a detergent bottle. Mark it with the word sharps, biohazard, and do not recycle. When it gets full put the cap on and bring to a safe collection site. Do not throw it in your recycling or trash bins.
