Authorities were scrambling on Wednesday to find the source of two surgically amputated legs discovered dumped at the Summerhill tip in the Newcastle area.

A bulldozer driver discovered the two legs on Tuesday while working a section of the waste treatment facility where medical waste was dumped about six weeks ago.

It is understood a forensic pathologist has determined the two legs, which had both been amputated from below the knee, had been operated on by a surgeon.

Police have since determined there were no suspicious circumstances and have handed the investigation onto Newcastle City Council and the Environmental Protection Authority.