Legs at tip came from a Newcastle hospital

Two surgically amputated human legs that ended up in a garbage tip in NSW's Hunter region came from Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital complex, a preliminary investigation has found.

A man working at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre in Wallsend found the legs sticking out of a pile of garbage on Tuesday.

Health Minister Jillian Skinner has confirmed the clinical waste originated from either NSW Health Pathology (Pathology North) or John Hunter Hospital, which are located on the same grounds which take in a number of medical facilities.

She says both facilities are assisting the Environment Protection Authority with its investigation into how the clinical waste came to be left at the depot.

"The community has the right to expect that human body parts and tissue are disposed of in an appropriate and respectful manner at all times. On this occasion they were not and that is unacceptable," Mrs Skinner said in a statement on Friday.

It's unclear if NSW Health staff or a private waste disposal company are responsible for the inappropriate disposal.