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Mpls. Needle Disposal Box Program Making A Difference, Say Health Officials

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – For several months now, WCCO has been looking into the needle littering problem in parts of Minneapolis.

The city is installing it's 11th syringe drop box this week in north Minneapolis for used needles. There are 10 more scattered around south Minneapolis in an effort to keep the sidewalks clean and safe.

WCCO's Erin Hassanzadeh explains how the city's efforts are making a difference.

Even in the middle of winter, needle littering is still clearly a problem here in south Minneapolis.

"You come back in here anytime during the day and you'll find needles," said resident Greg Lough.

Lough sees a lot of action in his south Minneapolis alley off of Bloomington Avenue and 25th street.

"They get their supplies, they go up in the alley and they do whatever they're going to do," Lough explained. "I was in New York for a while and New York was cleaner than this mess!"

But he doesn't just sit back and watch.

"I pick them up all the time," Lough said.

The city isn't sitting back either.

Just steps from the pile of needles in Greg's alley you'll find a needle drop box installed by the city's Health Department.

"Its an idea, it's a start," Lough said.

RELATED: 'It Is A Public Health Concern': Minneapolis Installs Used Needle Disposal Boxes In Pilot Program

"We've collected about 1000 needles so far," Noya Woodrich, Deputy Commissioner of the Minneapolis Health Department said.

This crew goes out a few times a month to empty the 10 needle drop boxes that were installed late last fall.

"I'm happy with what we've done so far I did anticipate more and I do anticipate more once summer rolls around," Woodrich explained.

The drop box off Bloomington and east 25th has been used the most. The city says of the thousand needles they've collected since November, 600 of them have come from there.

WCCO followed the crew to four different needle drop boxes where they collected a total of 28 used syringes.

It's a program that cities like St. Paul and Milwaukee are looking into, as the opioid epidemic stands strong.

"Based on what we're hearing usage isn't changing so it really is that its either happening somewhere else my guess is needles are inside somewhere now," Woodrich said.

The city is still figuring out if this effort will be worth it, but to fix a problem you have to start somewhere.

"If these boxes are convenient to people then they will use them," Woodrich explained.

The needle drop boxes cost $2,500 per box to make and the cleanup contract costs $50,000 for one year.

The city will reevaluate and move unused boxes when spring rolls around.

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