Pubdate: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 Source: Esquimalt News (CN BC) Copyright: 2001 Esquimalt News Contact: http://www.esquimaltnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1290 Author: Sean Carrie WHO PICKS UP DISCARDED SYRINGES? An issue which I think needs to be brought to the attention of the Esquimalt public recently cropped up when my father and I were out on a dog-walking jaunt. We were approaching the end of our walk, nearing the corner of Head and Dunsmuir streets, when we spotted a discarded syringe on the grassy boulevard. Alarmed, we steered ourselves and the dogs clear of the rubbish and proceeded home, where my father telephoned the police and asked for their advice on dealing with the situation. He was informed that the police were, until recently, responsible for disposal of such hazardous items, but had decided against doing so any longer. My father was then advised to dispose of the syringe himself. He was given instructions on how to do so which were sufficiently inexplicit as to ward him off taking any action whatsoever. I am not certain the Esquimalt police should be responsible for dealing with such situations within the township. Clearly the CRD or some other body should have a hazardous waste unit of some sort if discarded syringes are going to continue appearing in residential neighbourhoods throughout the city. But if the local police have deemed taking actions such as disposing of potentially hazarous objects too risky to expose their officers to, perhaps they should not be counselling ordinary citizens to deal with the problem by their lonesomes. Sean Carrie Esquimalt - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens