Close-up of mixed waste showing items including plastic bottle caps, containers, fragments, broken ceramics, pieces of glass, paper, and other household refuse. Various colours and textures are visible throughout the pile, including blue, red, yellow, white and green plastics. A carrot and other food waste can also be seen among the materials.
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Recycling bosses say used needles are increasingly being found among household waste

ByDavid Gregory-KumarWest Midlands science, environment and rural affairs correspondent
  • Published30 minutes ago

The boom in injectable weight-loss drugs, such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, is leading to more used needles turning up at recycling centres, putting workers at risk of serious injury and infection, bosses say.

At a recycling plant in Coventry, I watched staff sorting rubbish on a fast-moving conveyor belt when a crushed yellow sharps container suddenly appeared among the waste.