An investigation has been launched into how two surgically amputated human legs ended up in a garbage tip in NSW's Hunter region.
A man working at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre in Wallsend found the legs sticking out of a pile of garbage on Tuesday afternoon.
It's believed the legs were removed during a "legitimate surgery" and dumped, along with syringes and blood vials.
NSW's Environment Protection Authority is trying to figure out where the body parts came from.
"We are looking into a number of possible scenarios at this stage of the investigation, including establishing the chain of disposal the body parts went through prior to ending up in the landfill," the EPA said in a statement on Thursday.
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Legally all clinical waste, including body parts, blood and sharps, must be labelled and securely stored before being disposed of.
"Importantly this type of waste, like asbestos, can only be taken to certain landfills that are specially licensed to receive, store and/or dispose of clinical waste," the agency said.
An EPA spokeswoman told AAP the legs have been taken to the Newcastle morgue, but was unable to confirm whether they were from one or two individuals.
