City leaders install syringe disposal bins at 3 Metro Louisville parks

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Syringe disposal bins have been installed at three parks in Metro Louisville.

Officials with the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) said people can safely throw away needles at Boone Square, Portland and Shelby parks.

Metro Parks identified the three parks "as locations where its staff routinely finds syringes," officials said in a news release Monday.

Once a syringe is dropped in a disposal bin, it cannot be accessed. Leaders hope this protects the community from the spread of bloodborne illnesses like HIV and hepatitis C. The goal is to expand harm reduction efforts in the city.

"This is something that we feel strongly (about)," said Ben Goldman, community health administrator at LMPHW. "Residents deserve a safe place to put their syringes and this provides yet another option. People make choices based off of the choices that they have, and if people don't have a safe option, then they are more likely to use an unsafe option."

The bins can also be used for diabetics who use insulin.

Two disposal boxes are already available in the city, with one at the LMPHW's headquarters on East Gray Street and one outside the Salvation Army on South Brook and East Breckinridge streets. The health department estimates that between 3,000-10,000 syringes are disposed of each year in the box on Gray Street.

The boxes also include information about the Harm Reduction Outreach Services Program at the health department. Information can also be found by clicking here.

Officials said if you find a used syringe, do not touch it with your bare hands and do not touch the sharp end of the needle. If possible, use gloves, tongs or a tissue to pick it up by the barrel and dispose of it by keeping the needle pointing down and away from you when placing it in a disposal box, or into a heavy plastic container that should be taken to the health department or a disposal box.

LMPHW, Louisville Parks and Recreation and Metro Facilities partnered to install the boxes.

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