Jail 'idiots' for dumping used syringes: Mayor Pisasale

LEAVE a used needle in public and be sent to prison – that's what Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale wants.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale is angry about discarded syringes being dumped in public places. . Picture: David Nielsen

LEAVE a used needle in public and be sent to prison - that's what Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale wants.

Cr Pisasale has made the call for tougher penalties for dumping syringes after a stash of hundreds of used needles was found on Marsden Parade.

The needles were found by an Ipswich City Council employee when he noticed a sharps disposal box.

Police and council workers were called to the area on the river-side of the train tracks on the city street on Tuesday.

Many needles were in bright yellow disposal bins, however, others had been left lying on the ground.

The area was littered with hundreds of empty syringe packages as well as empty food and drink containers.

Cr Pisasale said the punishment for leaving needles in public areas should be made more severe.

"Council bends over backwards to put in disposal containers in parks but these idiots have breached the social contract with us by leaving needles out," he said.

"We've got to start looking at jail sentences for these idiots."

Currently, an average of two people a day face Ipswich Magistrates Court charged with failing to take reasonable care with a syringe or needle.

However, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Jarrod Bleijie said the severity of the penalty for not disposing of a needle hadn't previously been questioned.

"The maximum penalty is two years imprisonment."

Cr Pisasale, who uses syringes to treat his multiple sclerosis, said there were proper ways of disposing of used needles.

"I've got to take syringes for my MS, and I've got to dispose of them properly," he said.

Originally published as Jail 'idiots' for dumping used syringes: Mayor Pisasale