The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit is launching Sharps Buy Back Month.
During November, the Health Unit will give a $5 gift card for every 100 used sharps, needles or syringes, brought to their North Bay location or the Alliance Centre in Surgeon Falls. One hundred sharps are the approximate equivalent to two small sharps containers with about 50 sharps in each, one large sharps container, or a similar puncture-proof container like a 2L pop bottle.
Sharps Buy Back Month hopes to target people who would benefit from using needle exchange services.
“Sharps Buy Back Month is an initiative launched by the Health Unit to collect used sharps while teaching individuals about our needle exchange services and how to pick up sharps safely,” says Katharine O’Connell, Community Health Promoter.
If a sharp is found in the community, follow these instructions to pick it up safely:
- Do not walk while holding the sharp object.
- Bring a puncture-proof, hard-sided, leak-proof container with a lid, such as a pickle jar or bleach container, to the area where the sharp was found.
- Do not recap, bend, break the needle or manipulate it by hand in any way.
· Place the object in the container using tongs if available. If tongs are not available pick up the needle/sharp from the blunt end and place it in the puncture-proof container. Secure the lid.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- Label the container “hazardous waste” and bring it to the Health Unit for proper disposal.
Though the incentive campaign is only running through November, the Health Unit and Alliance Centre provide needle exchange services year-round
The needle exchange program is part of the Health Unit’s harm reduction programming, which recognizes that a certain percentage of the population will use drugs; however, the goal is to reduce the harm that might result from drug use. Those who use drugs are at risk of transmitting HIV, hepatitis and other blood-borne infections.
The Health Unit says needle exchange services are proven to reduce the spread of infection without increasing intravenous drug use.
For more information on the Sharps Buy Back campaign, visit www.myhealthunit.ca/sharps or call 1-800-563-2808.
