Typically safe places for children’s play, Wagga’s playgrounds are becoming potentially treacherous minefields, with locals saying the number of syringes found in the city’s parks are on the rise.
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A concerned Wagga mother, who did not wish to be named, said she was appalled to find three syringes within the space of 30 minutes when she took her children to visit their local park recently.
The woman said the needles, found in Mount Austin, had been used and left lying in the grass with the sharp tip exposed, creating a serious hazard for children running through the playground.
“The people leaving them laying around the parks haven't put caps on them or even taken the sharp tip off, it’s just so plain wrong,” the mother said.
The woman said she had noticed a steady increase in the number of syringes left in areas that were supposedly “child-friendly” and more needed to be done to address the growing problem.
“There are more and more used and not used needles being left in children's parks by these dirty people, who just don’t care about childrens’ safety.”
Wagga resident Benjamin Allen, who cleaned up more than a tonne of rubbish at this year’s Clean Up Australia Day, said he collected more than 14 syringes on the day, a number he found to be startlingly high.
“I often find several syringes when I do local clean ups, because a lot of people don’t dispose of them correctly, but I didn’t expect to find quite so many,” he said.
As a registered nurse, Mr Allen said he knew needle sticks posed a “huge medical problem”, potentially causing the patient to contract blood-born infections including tetanus and forms of hepatitis.
Mother of three Laurelle Lewis said discarded syringes were a rapidly growing issue.
“It’s definitely a growing problem in Wagga and that’s why people need to get on board and do something about it,” Ms Lewis said.
Ms Lewis said she regularly took her young children to parks and playgrounds around the city and was always cautious about idle needles.
“You shouldn't have to be worried about it as a mum, but unfortunately that’s the world we live in,” she said.
“You can’t safeguard everything, but something more needs to be done to make it as safe as possible, particularly when children are involved.”
