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