Helen Bennett and her husband, Bob, were was walking her dogs in Mailer St.
Stashed under the bus stop next to the Mornington shops was a plastic bag covering several used syringe needles.
After discovering the needles, Mrs Bennett took a photo and posted it online where it received hundreds of responses over night.
Mrs Bennett was disgusted someone would dispose of the needles irresponsibly.
"If they wanted to do stuff like that, then they should be disposed of properly.''
She had encountered a similar situation before, about eight years ago in Tauranga.
"I think that's the first time I've ever seen that in Dunedin.''
Mrs Bennett said rubbish collection services were in the area at the time and they took the needles and disposed of them.
Divo Needle Exchange manager Barb Smith said it was horrific someone had disposed of the needles in a public place and without proper sanitation.
"There is no reason to do this.''
There were plenty of options to safely dispose of used needles at both the needle exchange service and most pharmacies.
Mrs Smith said incidents like this gave a "bad name'' to the majority of users who safely disposed of their needles.
The Divo needle exchange service had a steady clientele and all knew to carefully and safely dispose of needles.
Divo operated as part of a harm-reduction initiative to eliminate the need for drug users to share needles and syringes, or reuse equipment.
Drug users are able to swap a used needle or syringe for a free new one at Divo and other outlets.
