Image Credit: Contributed / Kari Rubel

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Needle cleanup in Kamloops is still more complicated than it needs to be

Jan 24, 2020 | 11:24 AM

KARI RUBEL DIDN’T KNOW WHO TO CALL.

The program director for People in Motion had just found a bunch of used needles in front of the agency’s office on Tranquille Road.

The needles had been left among some cedar bushes in an elevated concrete planter.

Nearby was a garbage receptacle that was overflowing with trash, and that needed addressing as well.

So who’s responsibility is it to clean these things up?

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Rubel called the City of Kamloops and got transferred from department to department in a futile wild goose chase.

She called the North Shore Business Improvement Association and they offered another line to call.

There was no answer at the ASK Wellness needle cleanup line.

Kari Rubel’s story is not unique, unfortunately, in the last few years in Kamloops.

Trends in illicit drugs ebb and flow, and right now is the golden age of intravenous drugs.

Drug users, not known for being the most considerate when it comes to the safety of others, aren’t disposing of their materials in the sharps containers available around the city. Frankly, it’s unreasonable to expect that.

So back to that question: who’s responsibility is it to clean these things up?

The simple answer is to treat needles like other litter — private property owners are responsible for private property, municipal employees are responsible for public property, and we can all be good citizens and help out.

But needles aren’t like other litter. There is a legitimate fear and risk that comes with handling them, unlike picking up a discarded coffee cup or food wrapper and tossing it in the trash.

It’s time for the community to redouble its efforts on this front.

It wouldn’t take much: a single person, properly trained and equipped to handle potentially hazardous waste and able to respond to calls from the public.

Of course, the politicians will grapple with who will fund this position, but for the safety and peace of mind it would provide for the public, it’s well worth the expense.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.