Thousands of discarded needles, glass pipes found in Ottawa each year

A map shows where discarded needles and glass pipes were found in the downtown Ottawa area in 2025. (Ottawa Public Health/website)

Tens of thousands of discarded needles and glass pipes were found in the City of Ottawa last year, with the majority of the drug paraphernalia discovered in five Ottawa neighbourhoods.

Statistics available on the Ottawa Public Health website show 35,917 needles and 35,862 glass pipes were retrieved in Ottawa in 2025, up from 28,116 needles and 34,897 glass pipes in 2024.

Needle hunters picked up 33,349 needles and 34,895 glass pipes on streets and in public areas and parks.

According to the data, a total of 23,637 discarded needles and 28,649 glass pipes were discovered in the Rideau-Vanier ward in 2025, while 9,536 needles and 6,085 glass pipes were picked up in Somerset ward.

These were the neighbourhoods with the highest number of drug paraphernalia picked up in 2025:

Discarded needles

• Lowertown West: 9,024
• Sandy Hill: 7,617
• Centretown: 6,084
• Lowertown East: 4,757
• West Centretown: 3,908

Discarded glass pipes

• Lowertown West: 12,855
• Sandy Hill: 10,605
• Lowertown East: 4,538
• Centretown: 4,088
• West Centretown: 2,149

The City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health deploy needle hunters to collect discarded needles in public spaces, while staff will retrieve needles on city property in response to complaints to 3-1-1. Ottawa Public Health deploys the needle hunters to Lowertown, Sandy Hill, Centretown, Somerset West, Hintonburg, Carlington and Vanier to collect discarded needles in public spaces.

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Increase in discarded paraphernalia

There has been an increase in the amount of discarded drug paraphernalia picked up by needle hunters, city staff and residents over the past five years.

In 2021, a total of 37,424 discarded drug needles and 9,844 glass pipes were picked up across Ottawa, with the total increasing to 41,990 needles and 19,938 glass pipes picked up in 2023.

In 2024, 28,116 discarded drug needles and 34,897 glass pipes were picked up across the city.

Needles picked up by needle hunters

Here is how many needles have been picked up by needle hunters over the past five years:

• 2025: 33,349 needles
• 2024: 24,969 needles
• 2023: 35,213 needles
• 2022: 33,201 needles
• 2021: 33,726 needles