Data pooling boosts retrieval of discarded needles
By pooling eight months of data on needle recovery across Calgary, the system that’s dealt with more than 22,000 discarded needles this year is receiving some upgrades.
In a joint effort to improve the way needles are disposed of, the city of Calgary and Calgary Fire Department partnered with Calgary Alpha House Society to better manage patrol routes and redistribution of city-managed needle boxes. By analyzing the data collected daily by all three parties, they have a better understanding of where needles are left on streets and where the boxes should be placed.
It’s a step that the Beltline Community Association has been asking about for some time.
“We were pushing for quite some time for them to reanalyze needle drop box locations because there were complaints from some residents that there were more discarded needles than previously in some areas. This is a positive first step and we were really pushing for this to happen sooner, but it’s happening now,” said Peter Oliver, president of the community association.
Of the 22,469 needles collected between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, a large percentage are picked up by the fire department in the 22 needle debris boxes at different locations in the city. Due to the data analysis, five of those boxes are being relocated or added to high-density needle drop points.
Around 60 per cent of needles collected from public and private property, or about 1,900 needles per month, are found by Alpha House’s needle response team and trained peer contractors. The team was established in January and relieves pressure on fire department resources by responding to non-emergency needle pickups in their stead. The fire department has responded to 906 calls for needle debris since January, a 226 per cent decline from 2018.
“We also do more proactive sweeps. So we go out in the community and check certain areas, being familiar with certain areas so that we can pick up needles before Calgarians even come across them,” said Adam Melnyk, outreach manager at Alpha House.
The trained peer contractors are people with lived experience who provide valuable insight into needle debris trends, according to Melnyk.
While analyzing the data, information collected from March to May this year showed 4,567 needles were picked up in those three months alone, as more people spent time outside in warmer weather. After seeing these kinds of results, the collaboration is set to continue by keeping an eye on shifting patterns and staying up to date on where the best patrol routes and box locations are.
The needle response team can be reached at 403-796-5334 (via voice call or text) or email at needle@ alphahousecalgary.com five days a week.