Sharps containers installed in Windsor 'hot spots'

The yellow mailbox-sized container in the park down the street isn't actually a mailbox.

It's a sharps container and there are seven new ones around Windsor.

Installed Thursday, the containers were put in 'hot spots' that Jelena Payne, commissioner of development and health services for the city, says took a year to identify.

"Thirty city departments and community organizations were around the table for a year on the issue," said Payne. In addition to anecdotalinformation, the team looked at 311 and police data to decide where to put the containers.

Payne said the conversation around the table was 'incredibly supportive.'

"We listened to the advice that they gave and they went back to their respective organizations for the communication to happen and flow," said Payne.

There's funding for ten containers. One is being held back until streetscaping on Ouellette Avenue is complete. Two more are waiting for added data to determine their locations.

The seven installed today are located at:

1. Bruce Park
2. Wigle Park
3. Glengarry/Marentette
4. Senator Croll Park
5. Downtown Transit Terminal
6. Ford City Parkette
7. Dufferin Place (behind fire headquarters)

As of two weeks ago, the team was still making decisions about moving containers "half a metre to the left, a metre to the right,"said Payne.

The containers are freestanding, but are bolted in place. Some installations required a cement pad to ensure the container couldn't be tipped.

Payne said data shows people use the containers when they're available, citing Ottawa's 78 containers as an example. According to Payne, Ottawa collects about 876,000 sharps or needles a year through their containers.

"It's about safety for our community, safety for individuals who choose to use substances," said Payne.

An external company will empty the containers on a monthly basis, for now. If its found that monthly is too often or not often enough, there's room to change the contract.

Three containers already exist in Windsor: one at Street Help, one at the AIDS Committee of Windsor and one at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.