Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
February 11, 2019 - 3:24 PM
Vernon – Vernon city council has endorsed a pilot program for the daily clean-up of used needles.
The Folks on Spokes program comes after the Active Safety Taskforce identified improperly discarded needles as a concern in the community.
Vernon council voted unanimously to approve the $33,000 pilot program during its meeting today, Feb. 11.
Folks on Spokes will provide a daily two-hour morning cleanup of hot spots in the community, staffed by people who have experienced substance use. Some of the clean-up will involve people on bicycles collecting the needles.
A Vernon woman stepped on a needle buried in the sand at Kin Beach last summer.
Several needle buyback schemes have been launched in Kamloops, Penticton and Vernon. Interior Health also came under fire for reporting that 99 per cent of needles were disposed of correctly, a number the health authority later admitted was an "approximation."
The program will run in conjunction with two current weekly clean-up programs.
Folks on Spokes will run from Mar. 1 to Oct. 31, 2019 as a pilot project.
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