Keeping our Neighbourhood Playground Safe
Needles are used by people with specific health conditions and people with specific addictions. Ensuring that people who use needles can access safe disposal, and that stray needles and needle debris in the community are dealt with promptly and safely is one of the goals of Capital City Clean Up.
Handle Needles Safely
- Never put the cap back on a stray needle
- Use gloves and tongs to pick up the needle
- Place in a hard plastic container, tightly seal, and label "Used Needles"
- Never put needles down the toilet, drain, sewer, or in the garbage
OR
If you are not comfortable picking up the needle and need more information, call
- City of Edmonton at 311
When to Call for Help
- If you are too nervous to pick the needle up
- If you see many needles in a pile, for example, in a stairwell or behind a dumpster
- If you see broken needles scattered on the ground
- If you have no way of taking the needle in a strong container to a safe place
Children should NEVER pick up a needle.
Leave it where it is and call an adult for help.
Choices for Disposing of Needles
Safe Needle Disposal Box
- Pharmacies that accept needles
- Streetworks, a free needle exchange service for injection drug users with 15 sites and a mobile van
- Capital City Clean Up will consider requests for placement of boxes in additional locations based on overall need, historical data collected based on reporting to 311 and public safety issues
- City of Edmonton installs and empties public safe needle disposal boxes
Disposed needles from Streetworks and the needle boxes end up at Swan Hills, Alberta where they are incinerated.
"Nearly 2 million needles are exchanged through Streetworks annually."
Needle Disposal Box Sites
AADAC Recovery Centre
in the alley behind the Detox Centre
10302 107 Street
Boyle McCauley Health Centre (front and rear)
in the front and alley behind the Health Centre
10628 96 Street
Boyle Street Community Services
10116 105 Avenue
George Spady Centre
inside the building
10015 105A Avenue
Herb Jamieson Centre (south east corner and west side)
10014 105 Avenue
Women's Emergency Accommodation Centre
in the parking lot next to WEAC
9611 101A Avenue
Bissell Thrift Store
8818 118 Avenue
Salvation Army
NW Corner parking lot
9611 - 101A Avenue
Boxes with larger openings for larger containers
Bissell Centre
10527 96 Street
Urban Manor
9524 104 Avenue
Boys and Girls Club
94 Street & 109 Avenue
Needle Exchange Sites
Boyle McCauley Health Centre
10628 96 Street
780-422-7333 Ext. 1
Boyle Street Community Service
10116 105 Avenue
780-424-4106
STD Centre
11111 Jasper Avenue
780-413-5158
HIV Edmonton
9702 111 Avenue
780-488 5742
"This is a safety issue. It's nothing personal. It doesn't matter if the person is a diabetic or an injection drug user. This is a health concern" ~ Health Professional
Information provided by City of Edmonton
