With fall yard work to finish, and Pokémon to catch, people are still enjoying the outdoors in Regina. While walking on the sidewalk, you may notice some less than desirable debris on the ground, such as trash and needles. If you want to be a superhero in your area, put on some gloves, grab some friends and garbage bags, and clean up trash left behind by litterbugs. However, if you find a needle, don’t touch it (unless you have the right tools)! Here is our need-to-know about needles tips to help you out, safely:
1) NO DUMPING: Don’t try to dispose of a used needle or any biomedical waste in a city garbage container or recycling “blue” bins. The City’s Waste Management Bylaw prohibits this.
2) REPORT IT: Call The Street Project (of the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region) at 306-766-7799 for help with picking up a needle, in any area of the city. The Street Project’s hours are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. After hours, call the City of Regina at 777-7000, and follow the voicemail instructions.
3) SAFETY FIRST: Although used needles pose a serious public safety and health hazard, there are ways to dispose of a needle safely, using heavy gloves, a pair of tongs or pliers and a “sharps container” or other type of hard-sided container, with a lid, that can’t be penetrated by the needle (like a coffee tin or a an empty pop bottle with a cap). Use the tongs to pick up the needle and place it in the container; then take the container to a needle disposal drop box or call 306-766-7799 to arrange for pickup.
Make sure you teach your children about the dangers of touching dirty needles (and to not touch it, and get an adult if they see one). Thank you, Regina, for being careful around needles and helping with winter preparation cleaning.