Residents Lauren and Phillip, who did not want their surnames published, were cleaning up the mess left by opportunistic thieves on the morning of Saturday, August 15, when they made the shocking discovery.
�I have three children of my own. It is horrible and there is a dance school near there with kids coming to take part in dance classes with their mothers, it is horrifying,�Lauren said.
�I have pre-schoolers who come in and it is literally a couple of feet away from my front door near the bins and on the footpaths. Normally the clothes are an issue, but I got a bit of a shock this time.
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READ NOW"They literally need to get rid of the bins, because at the moment I have no choice but to deal with it, as the council isn't dealing with the problem."
Phillip said police should be monitoring the area more often and the council should remove the bins.
"I walked past on Saturday morning and it was all very untidy and I wanted to put the mess in the bin," Phillip said.
�A lady asked if she could help me and while we were cleaning up she saw the syringes and then said you should be careful as there were lots of syringes all over the place; some in front of the bin and some near the kerb.
"It is all these druggies coming here and people who just want to get clothes for free."
Phillip said he had spoken to the ||City of South Perth about the syringes and was told the charities who owned the bins had been given three months to come up with a solution to stop |people stealing from the bins.
South Perth Mayor Sue Doherty said the city would work with the charities to ensure the bins and the areas around them were maintained.
"The purpose of the bins is to provide charities with much-needed funds from the sale of donations received to support those in need," she said.
"It is disappointing when charity bins are mistreated and people show such little respect for the intent of the charity bins by leaving litter and dangerous items such as syringes in the vicinity."
Officer-in-charge of Kensington Police Station, Senior Sergeant Ashley Goy said no one had been apprehended or charged in relation to theft of property left from charity bins.
The City of South Perth said discarded syringes left in public areas could pose a serious health threat.
"All of the city's ranger vehicles are equipped with sharps containers," Mayor Sue Doherty said.
"If the city is notified of a discarded syringe within the city, our rangers are alerted and will safely remove and dispose of the syringe as soon as is practicable."
If a syringe is found, contact the city on 9474 0777.