Harm Reduction

• Providing safe needle disposal education to people who use drugs and other community members.
• Distributing small sharps containers for personal use.
• Accepting used harm reduction sharps back at all public health, mental health and substance use, and primary care sites for safe disposal.
  • Supporting municipalities and non-profits to safely dispose of needles by covering the costs of harm reduction sharps disposal.
• Supporting community partner agencies to do community clean ups.
• Supporting supervised consumption and overdose prevention sites in communities where appropriate.
• Safe Sharps Disposal Toolkit: A Community Response to a Community Issue
  •   Poster/Info Sheet: Sharps Disposal "Do's" and "Don’ts"
  •   Article: Talking to Children about Needles
  •   Poster/Info Sheet: How to Safely Dispose of Needles 
  •   Poster/Info Sheet: What to Do If You Find a Needle
  •   Video: What to Do If You Find a Needle
  •   FAQ: Needle Distribution Programs – Why Are They Important?
• Community Clean-up Program Toolkit: This toolkit provides a sample program focusing on providing Peers (people with lived experience) an opportunity to receive support while participating as a volunteer in community clean-up initiatives.

Note: You can also return sharps to all IH public health, mental health and substance use, and primary care sites for safe disposal.

If a discarded needle is found in a public place, your local health unit or municipality can advise on needle collection services in your community. Alternatively, you can take the following steps to safely dispose of the needle:

Step 1

• Find a hard plastic container with a secure lid (e.g. plastic drink bottle with a wide mouth, liquid laundry bottle)
• Remove the lid and place the container on the ground beside the needle
• Do not break or recap the needle

Step 2

• Pick up the needle by the centre of the syringe barrel with care
• Use work or latex gloves, or tongs, if available
• Always point the sharp end of the needle down and away from you

Step 3

• Put the needle in the container, sharp-end first, and secure the lid
• While doing this step, the container should be on the ground; do not hold it in your hand
• Remove gloves and wash hands thoroughly with soap and water

Step 4

• Drop off the sealed container at a local health unit, pharmacy or community drop box

• Safe Needle Disposal
   
• Harm Reduction Best Practices: Safe Needle Disposal (BCCDC)
   
• Harm Reduction Best Practices: Needle Distribution (BCCDC)

Getting poked by a needle can be concerning. However, it is important to remember that the risk of infection from an improperly discarded needle in the community is extremely low. In the event of a needle stick injury, the following steps should be taken:

• Allow the wound to bleed freely. Do not squeeze the wound. This may damage the tissues and increase risk of infection.
   
• Wash the wound with soap and water. Do not apply bleach or alcohol to the wound.
   
• Go to your local emergency department immediately for follow-up care. An assessment will be done to determine the need for post-exposure prophylaxis (e.g. medications and/or vaccinations to further reduce the risk of transmission). Baseline blood tests for HBV, HCV and HIV will be done at this visit, with follow-up blood tests to be done over the next three months to make sure none of these viruses have been transmitted.

Learn more about community needle stick injuries (BCCDC).