Guelph installs new needle drop boxes across city

Sharps disposal boxes have popped up in public places around Guelph. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte explains what’s behind the move.

New needle drop boxes have been installed around the City of Guelph in an effort to keep public spaces safe.

They were placed in areas where there was the highest risk of those discarded items.

“Public health has had a number of bins installed in the city previously,” explained Mallory Lemon, the city’s acting general manager for parks. “The latest round, [they were] mostly located in city parks and at the main public library downtown.”

Nine more boxes have been added, which are meant for the disposal of needles and sharp drug-related paraphernalia. It is part of a shared effort between the city and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) Public Health.

The locations chosen were:

• York Road Park
• Northumberland Park
• Sunny Acres Park
• Herb Markle Park
• Suffolk Street Park
• Drew Park
• Allan’s Mill
• Silvercreek Trail near the Water Street meadow
• Main branch of the Guelph Public Library

“They were determined based on where we’ve seen evidence of needles and sharps in our parks,” Lemon explained.

The project also aligns with the recent conversion of Guelph’s consumption and treatment services (CTS) site into one of the province’s new HART Hubs, which do not allow users to inject on-site.

“This was in the works before the closure of those sites. It sort of happened to work out at a good time,” said Lemon.

The CEO of the Guelph Community Health Centre, which operates the new HART Hub, said in an emailed statement to CTV News that safe needle exchange and disposal was one of many services provided by CTS sites as part of harm reduction efforts and community safety.

“The recent loss of these sites and services does not increase pressure on municipalities to implement alternatives, such as the drop boxes recently installed around the City of Guelph,” Melissa Kwiatkowski explained. “We do anticipate an increase in public drug use as a result of these site closures, which will likely lead to more discarded needles and waste in our community.”

Either way, city staff want to remind people the bins aren’t just for illicit drug use.

“The bins are available for anybody who needs to dispose of their sharps. And that would be for a number of conditions,” said Lemon.

All of it is meant to protect people and pets as they travel around the city, as well as workers who handle waste disposal.

The drop boxes are supplied and emptied by WDG Public Health, while the city’s parks department is in charge of installation and ongoing upkeep as part of routine park and trail maintenance.