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Dispose of sharps properly please [UPDATED]
Published 9:34am Friday, March 1, 2013 Updated 6:01am Wednesday, March 6, 2013While it is important to recycle items like bottles, cans, cardboard boxes and old Daily Journals, needles and other sharps should never find their way into a recycling bin.
The Otter Tail County Recycling Center recently had a scary mishap where an employee was poked by a needle that had come across the recycling line.
This employee had to be taken to the emergency room to be tested for blood-born diseases.
The Recycling Center has seen an increase in items like needles being carelessly recycled, and this is a problem that could be easily fixed if area residents become more mindful of how items are disposed.
The easiest way to protect others from used sharps is to place needles/sharps into a puncture resistant bottle (such as a laundry detergent bottle or 2 liter soda pop bottle), mark it as “household sharps” in black marker, but place it on top of their garbage can during collection day instead of putting it directly into the garbage bag/can.
Taking these simple precautions could save someone you know from being stuck with a contaminated needle.
