CBRM trying to protect workers from needles tossed in garbage, recycling bags

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality wants to reduce risks to workers who may be poked or pricked by used needles while collecting garbage.

Needles, syringes and lancets can be found at the curbside in garbage bags and blue bags.

Roschell Clarke of the municipality's solid waste department could not say if the improper disposal of needlesin garbage and recycling is a widespread problem, as CBRM does not collect data on their discovery.

But at the municipalrecycling depot, a worker is pricked by a needle about once every five years.

"Having it once is one too many times because it's a safety issue for collectors and our sorters," Clarke said.

The materials that are collected in blue bags pose the biggest risk to CBRM employees because those recycled materials are sorted by hand.

"Our staff are always on alert and they know hidden dangers that are connected to sorting waste by hand, but sometimes they don't see it until it's too late when they go to pull something off the sort line, and then unfortunately they may get stuck with that needle," said Clarke.

Bags checked at curbside

Clarke said municipal workers are expected to check bags before they're loaded onto trucks, but needles can often be hidden behind paper and newsprint.

When needles are found at the curbside, the property owner will be paid a visit by CBRM's illegal dump officer.

Clarke said sharps are often put out by accident, but that doesn't reduce their harm to the people who are handling them.

"Unless it's detected on the floor when they're opening and emptying out the loose materials on the tipping floor, it's going to end up going up the conveyor belt where that material is going to be sorted and separated by hand. And that's where the concern is," said Clarke.

Drop-off site available

Nova Scotians can return sharps and unwanted or unused medications to local pharmacies for safe disposal for free.

There are also several bright yellow kiosks available throughout CBRM, including one at the Ally Centre in Sydney, where people can properly dispose of their needles.

The non-profit organization also offers sharps containers for free through a needle exchange program that hands out roughly 600,000 needles per year.

"I do feel that [people]don't know what to do with them," said Christine Porter, executive director of the Ally Centre.

"We encourage people, especiallythose who are accessing our service, to dispose of them properly."

Porter said people who are using illicit drugs will often get rid of needlesquickly for fear of being caught by police or family.

As part of a new short-term program, CBRM staff will be collecting needles at several public events from now until Oct. 29.

Anyone looking for information on needle disposal can phone the CBRM's waste management hotline at 902-567-1337.

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