Two surgically removed legs found at a rubbish dump in Newcastle came from two different people, the ABC understands.
Craig Lamberton, director of hazardous incidents at the Environmental Protection Authority said the legs were not legally disposed of.
“Clinical waste needs to be treated through a sterilisation process … so that it’s sterile,” Mr Lamberton said.
“It has to go to a specialist treatment facility before any waste can go to landfill. Clearly this hasn’t happened in the case at Summerhill.”
Mr Lamberton said the reason such materials were treated so securely was because they could be infectious.
He said he could not confirm whether the legs have come from different people and whether the people who they came from were still alive.
“Our investigation will be primarily, what’s the chain of events that lead this to turning up in landfill.
"And there are a number of parties that play a role here, the medical facility, the transporter, the treatment facility and the landfill, so there's potentially a number of parts of this chain where this has broken down.
"There's only a certain number of people who are licensed to transport clinical waste and also what is a dangerous good and often hospitals have a contractor with a specialist contractor.
"Once we figure out where they've come from it shouldn't be hard to find out who was responsible for transporting them."
Police have confirmed their discovery is not related to a criminal matter.
Corporations that unlawfully dispose of medical waste can face fines of up to $1 million.
The New South Wales Opposition has demanded answers from the State Government, saying the protocol surrounding the disposal of limbs appears to have broken down.
