Pubdate: Fri, 07 Feb 2003
Source: Kamloops This Week (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 Kamloops This Week
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1271
Author: Danna Johnson

NEEDLE CLEANUP 101

On Tuesday morning, Tasha Hamilton found a dirty needle in the driveway of 
her apartment complex on Fortune Drive. Rather than ignore it and wait for 
someone else to deal with it, she called several agencies in the community 
asking for help: what should she do with it ... could someone come and get it?

After making several phone calls and getting little help, she contacted 
Kamloops This Week.

"We called everyone who has a phone number. It's been in the middle of my 
driveway since last night."

She was babysitting when she saw the needle and says she didn't feel 
comfortable picking it up with an infant in her arms. "One lady I talked to 
told me to go get a paper bag and pick it up with that."

Then what, she wondered, just throw the needle in the garbage and wait for 
the trash collectors to find it?

That's exactly what not to do, says Barry James, native health centre HIV 
liaison worker.

The rule, he adds, is to pick the needle up with tongs or, if you don't 
have tongs, pliers or tweezers. Pointing the needle away from your body, 
drop it into a pop bottle or other plastic disposable container and put a 
lid on it.

When that's done, James says the container should be taken to the health 
centre for disposal.

If you can't make it into the centre, or if there are too many needles on 
the property, James, who organizes the needle exchange, doesn't have a 
problem coming to you.

He gets a few calls each month from people who find needles, but he says, 
the numbers have been going down over the years. "We've been educating 
clients to bring (the needles) in here and they've been putting pressure on 
their friends to do the same."

He still goes to various groups in the community, educating them on what to 
do if they find needles. Next month, he'll visit the horticulture students 
at the University College of the Cariboo.

"We find them everywhere," he says, but the most common areas are shrubs 
and flower beds.
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MAP posted-by: Alex