15 more needle receptacles planned for greater Sydney area
More needle kiosks could soon pop up in locations around the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
The kiosks, which look a bit like mailboxes, are used as drop-off points for used syringes, or sharps, as they're also known.
The CBRM's Board of Police Commissioners has recommended the receptacles be installed in 15 "hot spots" — places where there have been complaints about used needles left on the ground and in garbage cans.
"I'm surprised to hear 15 — that's a great number," said Christine Porter, executive director of the Ally Centre of Cape Breton, which offers education and support services for drug users, among others.
Centre outreach workers take care of the eight kiosks already in place in Sydney, Glace Bay, New Waterford, Sydney Mines, Eskasoni and Membertou.
While she's happy there will be more of the yellow and black boxes around the municipality, Porter is concerned about who will take responsibility for them.
Whose job?
"We don't have the resources to take care of 15 more sharps kiosks in our communities. I wish we did," she said.
Porter points out that in other cities where public needle receptacles are installed, the needles are picked up with the other trash.
"It's considered litter and it's the municipalities that take charge of that," she said.
Over to council
Police Chief Peter McIsaac hopes municipal staff will assume the responsibility.
"Hopefully, we can work out a plan with our public works or our parks and grounds people that they can come up with a schedule to empty these things out once they are established," he said.
McIsaac says his department gets calls almost every day to pick up used needles that have been left on the ground.
He says research shows that if the containers are available, people will use them.
The cost of the new boxes and installation is $21,000.
It will be up to regional council to decide on the purchase during annual budget talks in the new year.
