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
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens