Willoughby City Council is situated in Sydney's northern suburbs about 9 km from the Sydney GPO.It covers an area of 23 Km2 and has an Estimated Residential Population of 71, 933 (2012).Willoughby City is culturally diverse with 35% of people speaking a language other than English at home.
In 2006, it was estimated that there were 3,347 people with Diabetes living within the Willoughby LGA. This represented a 57% increase from 2001 numbers . Based on these figures, this relates to 292,000 syringes and pen needles generated by people with diabetes alone. When other health conditions requiring self-injection are taken into account, there are potentially a much higher number of sharps being generated within the community.NSW Health estimates that around 50% of the needles and syringes used for self-injectionin NSW each year end up in local council waste and recycling services . Willoughby City Council (WCC) had been approached by recycling contractors in the area regarding the problem of sharps in recycling and the possibility of developing a community sharps management plan.
The aim of this project was to develop a plan to address the above concerns. The plan includes:
The objectives of the project are: