The boxes will be the first in the city for the safe disposal of syringes and sharp medical waste.
By Chance Viles, published in the American Journal, 9/7/21
Westbrook Partners for Prevention will install four community “sharps boxes” around the city this month for the proper disposal of syringes and other types of sharp medical waste.
Four locations were selected based on input from the public services, police and fire departments about the number of needles found in those areas, according to Janet Dosseva of Partners for Prevention. They are the Community Policing Center at 192 Brown St., the intersection of Cross and Central streets, Riverbank Park and at 901 Main St. on the Saccarappa Park fence.
The boxes, costing about $100 each, will be emptied regularly and are a first for the city, said Dosseva, program director for the nonprofit that provides education about substance misuse and addiction. State funding for the Opportunity Alliance, a Portland-based community and health nonprofit, will cover the costs of the boxes.
“Every year we participate in national drug take-back days with similar boxes, but people don’t have a way to dispose of sharps,” Dosseva said. “If they are diabetic, it’s hard for them to find a good, safe way to dispose of that. We’ve gotten requests, phone calls about needles in public and collaborated with the Opportunity Alliance to secure funding and implement sharps boxes throughout Westbrook.”
Medical sharps include lancets and auto-injectable devices, but boxes will also be open to the disposal of syringes used for illegal drugs.
Public Services and Westbrook Fire did not have data on the number of discarded needles collected in public, but Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte said the locations correlate to calls for service in the areas, such as for overdoses.
