Garbage bag of syringes dumped in Southeast Austin neighborhood

AUSTIN, Texas - An open garbage bag full of needles was found tossed just feet from homes in a southeast Austin neighborhood. 

"Some do not have caps, they are used, they are dirty, and it's just pretty scary," said Ruby Garcia who lives nearby.

Garcia said she first saw the pile of syringes earlier this month while on a walk. "It's more upsetting because my grandkids and my daughter found it. We were walking back there and they were walking ahead of me and they saw it first," she said.

The bag of needles sits at the end of Carnation Terrace, an area where Garcia said people walk and kids play, so she is worried someone will accidentally get pricked. "Not only that, we have pets and my dog is always sniffing everything and they risk getting poked carrying Lord knows what.," said Garcia.

The mound of medical waste was not dumped recently; Garcia took pictures of it from earlier this month.

She, along with her neighbors, have been trying to get the city to properly dispose of the hazard but feel like they have been ignored. "They even had officers come out here and take pictures of it and it's still here. That is just ridiculous. Whom else can we call? We are calling the people we need to call and nobody is doing anything about it.," said Garcia.

For Garcia, she feels their request is simple. "I'd just like for that to get picked up. Remove it and put it wherever it's supposed to go."

FOX 7 Austin tracked the neighbor’s 311 request. Our team found the request was handed to the Austin Police Department and was closed. After contacting the city about this and how the pile was still there, a spokesperson for 311 told FOX 7 Austin they will send out a public works crew today to clean it up Friday.

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