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How do you safetly pick up and dispose of needles?


  1. Before making any contact with a needle, it is important to wear proper safety gear. Make sure to wear gloves that fit well and are puncture-resistant. NEVER MAKE SKIN CONTACT WITH THE NEEDLE.

  2. Before making any contact with a needle, make sure you have a puncture-resistant container. Some of these may include degerent bottles, specific sharps containers, metal tins, and many more. Be sure not to use plastic bottles like soda bottles or water bottles due to them being easy to puncture.

  3. After you put on the gloves and have the puncture-resistant container, you are safe to collect the needle. To further ensure your safety, always collect the needle with tongs, pliers, or another similar tool. Even with gloves, it is best to avoid making contact with your hands.

  4. Before putting the needle in the container, make sure the container is placed on a flat surface nearby. Carefully slide the needle into the container with the sharp end facing down. Do not attempt to break, bend, or recap the needle, as this can lead to accidental injuries or cause the substance to splash on you.

  5. Now you can drop it off at a needle drop-off site. Click here to see ones near you!

What do you do in the case of a needle making contact with your skin?

  1. If the needle pierces your skin or even touches it immediately wash it. If any of the blood or bodily fluids makes contact with your nose, eyes, or mouth, immediately clean those with saline spray, clean water, or a sterile eye solution.

  2. After cleaning the wound, allow it to bleed under water. Do not squeeze or force it out.

  3. Once washed, dry gently and cover the wound with a clean, sterile bandage.

  4. No matter what, contact a health provider as soon as possible. They can evaulate your risks, by running necessary blood tests.

Needle Reporting Map (COMING SOON)

Below this is a map used by the community to report where current needles are, or where needles have been seen and to look out for them. If you see the site says there is a needle to be collected, but has already been collected, then you can check it off. Allowing your location will only open where you currently are; however, none of the data is tracked, unless you post somewhere. The data that is tracked will only remain for the comment there and will be linked to your account, but no data will be sold/distrubited and any data is secure within our database.

Now you can report where you see needles; however, you can only report them where your current location is, so you'll have to turn off any VPNs or allow tracking, so we can properly report. The reason we use this is to prevent continual false reporting from far away and things like that! For display, you can show your name, but you do not have to! If you wish not to, then just check Anonymous!



Anonymous

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