NEEDLE PICKUP COSTS CONCERN CITY COUNCILLOR

The City of Saskatoon shouldn't pay to pick up discarded needles that
originate from the Saskatoon Health Region's needle exchange program,
according to Coun. Myles Heidt.

The needle exchange program is necessary and does excellent work,
Heidt said, but he wonders if the health region should be doing more
to help with cleanup.

"I don't think it's fair. Not handing needles out is not an option,
so what do we do? The communities shouldn't be footing the bill (for
needle pickups)," Heidt said.

About 86 per cent of the roughly 500,000 needles annually distributed
by the health region are recovered, leaving 70,000 unaccounted for.
Some of the deserted needles are retrieved by Saskatoon Fire and
Protective Services.

"I don't have a problem with needles being distributed, but there's
too much risk to keep giving them out with no regard for the
consequences," Heidt said.

The city can't bill the health region because it might adversely
affect the needle exchange program, but it could be a future option
if the problem gets worse, Heidt said.

As part of Heidt's request for the city's needle recovery policies,
he was curious to know who was liable for dirty needles found on
Saskatoon's streets.

Administrators responded the city is not liable for dirty needles
found on the streets, in parks or other public spaces.

The administration and finance committee recommended devising a way
to identify needles distributed by the health region, with the cost
of recovery being based on identification of the needles. But the
high cost of marking needles, along with the added danger to the
manufacturer's employees who would handle the needles, ultimately
made identification unfeasible, said an administration report.

Assistant fire chief Bob Fawcett said the only cost to the city is
the fuel used by fire trucks picking up the needles.

While it may seem excessive to send a large fire truck to pick up one
tiny needle, Fawcett said the dangers of dirty needles outweigh
concerns of wasteful spending.

"We don't find needle pick-up tedious. This is in the interest of
community safety of children. We would rather go out and pick them up
rather then children poking themselves," he said.

Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services retrieved 4,586 needles in
2002, 11,925 in 2003 and 5,056 in 2004, according to the fire
department. Complete year figures were not available for 2005 and 2006.

Broken down by neighbourhood, Pleasant Hill, with 2,000 needle
pickups, was by far the busiest area for the fire department in 2004,
followed by 631 in Riversdale and 362 retrievals in Fairhaven. Only
27 of the 80 neighbourhoods in Saskatoon had needle pickups numbering
in the double digits.

"We're picking up more and more needles every year. Certainly there's
been no decreases in the numbers," Fawcett said.

The fire department picks up and stores needles in containers until
the Saskatoon Health Region collects and disposes of them. Each fire
truck is equipped with needle disposal containers.

In the spring as the snow melts, the fire department makes extra
sweeps of the parks looking for needles hidden during the winter.

Heidt said the fire department is doing an excellent job recovering
needles and agreed the program is a great benefit to Saskatoon.

"I'm told needle pickups aren't jeopardizing the regular duties of
the fire department. We have to keep the fire halls staffed and
they're there anyway," he said.

But he is opposed to hiring someone solely dedicated to needle recovery.

The Saskatoon Health Region did not immediately return calls for this story.