Man's warning after 'disgusting' find on kids' playground equipment

A concerned local has issued a warning to parents after making an alarming discovery at a children's playground over the weekend.

The Queensland man was visiting a park along the Cairns Esplanade on Saturday when he noticed a couple of "used needles" that appeared to have been carelessly dumped on top of the equipment where kids play.

Concerned for the safety of children who frequent the area, the man took to Facebook with a warning on Saturday. "Serves as a reminder to inspect [the] playground with your kids," he shared alongside a photo showing two green syringes wrapped in a tissue.

The man said he found them "at the top of the fort" at the Fig tree playground — a "one of a kind" play area built into a "massive" fig tree consisting of bridges, tunnels, steps, slides and ropes.

Aussies warned to dispose of needles correctly

Yahoo News Australia understands the playground was built and maintained by Ports North — north Queensland's main port area. However, Cairns Regional Council has stressed the importance of disposing of needles correctly.

"Needles and syringes need to be disposed of in a rigid-walled, puncture-resistant, sealed container," a spokesperson told Yahoo News on Wednesday. "Council provides sharps disposal bins within the toilet facilities of public amenities."

Council also said that people should not touch a syringe if they find one and to "report its discovery to Council immediately so it can be removed as a matter of urgency".

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'Disgusting' find shocks locals

The man who found the syringes confirmed "the needles have been removed and placed in the bin". The discovery shocked some local parents after seeing the post on social media.

"This is disgusting, was such a good spot to take my son to run around and play in. Guess we will have to find a safer place to take him to," one said, with others saying they too would not return.

"We’ve been coming here for ages and have never had an issue but I guess we won’t be risking it this time. Thank you for cleaning it up you’re a good person! People just need respect like it’s a bloody kids play area," they added.

Queensland initiative to 'reduce' injection-related injury

According to 2022 data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 54 per cent of Aussies who inject illicit substances reported that methamphetamine was their drug of choice. Nationally, just 1.5 per cent of the population aged 14 and over reported injecting a drug in their lifetime — equal to about 375,000 people.

The Queensland Needle and Syringe Program (QNSP) is currently in operation to "reduce the incidence of blood-borne viruses and injection-related injuries and disease".

It aims to provide sterile injecting equipment, facilitate the safe disposal of used injecting equipment and improve access and referrals to drug treatment programs. "This is achieved through a network of 150 public needle and syringe programs and over 700 community pharmacies," the Queensland government said online.

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