It's a parent's worst nightmare: their child stepping on a needle while playing outside.
Around 200 syringes and needles spotted in public spaces are reported to ACT authorities every year.
They're found everywhere, from bike baths and bus stops, to ovals and school carparks.
City Services' Tessa Roberts said it was an ongoing cleaning mission.
"We've collected 151 sharps from public land since February, but there would be more than that," she said.
"We get calls from right across Canberra, it can be in numerous locations, places you wouldn't think, like the verges of the Monaro Highway.
"We're the end-cleaner of what needs to be done."
Sharps include needles, syringes, scalpels, razors and other blades and clinical waste.
They can be contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids, so have to be disposed of carefully.
Blood-borne infections such as HIV or Hepatitis B or C can be transmitted by an injury from a sharp.
Canberrans have reported seeing sharps at bus stops, outside primary schools, around communal skip bins and in parks..
One Facebook user said they even found syringes that had been thrown into the outdoor area of a daycare centre.
Public toilets across Canberra are cleaned once a day, and rangers often find sharps left around the bathrooms, City Services said.
An eight-year-old boy injured his hand on a needle that was left in a public toilet in Port Macquarie last year.
Police said the needle was still attached to the syringe and was rolled into the layers of toilet paper - making it hard to spot.
The child was taken to Port Macquarie Hospital for treatment.
Public spaces such as playgrounds, ovals and transport sites are also patrolled regularly in the capital.
While City Services collects data on the number of sharps called in by the public, they don't have any figures on how many sharps are found during routine cleaning.
Sharps on public land can be reported and collected by City Services, but if it's on private land, it's the responsibility of the landholder.
Ms Roberts said they would come and collect a sharp within four hours of it being reported.
"Don't touch it. Make sure you provide contact details, otherwise we are looking for a needle in a haystack," she said.
"It's a big area so be as specific as possible with the location."
"It could be anywhere."
If you need to report sharps or clinical waste, call Access Canberra on the 24-hour Sharps Hotline (132 281).
The ACT government provides sharps containers in all public toilet facilities in the territory, which are emptied at least once a fortnight.
