Efforts to clean up improperly discarded needles around Vernon aren’t likely to result in a buy-back program.
The city was investigating the potential for such a program, which operated shortly in Kamloops and Penticton but have since ceased.
Meanwhile, Vernon’s Folks on Spokes (FOS) Program visits hotspots five days a week in the mornings and by the end of August, the program had collected 348 needles.
“The Folks on Spokes on-call hotline team, available 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., five days a week, have been called out 38 times between April and the end of August,” Vernon Community Safety Office co-ordinator Rachael Zubick said in a report to council. “Approximately five calls have been received from residential areas and the balance from the business community. Hot line call outs have resulted in the collection of 161 sharps throughout the city.”
Kamloops’ teams cleaned up 3,369 “public safety hazards” this summer.
In Penticton, the Bylaw Services have collected roughly 3,000 sharps and public work 500.
The City of Vernon is recommended to stick with the status quo and support the Folkes on Spokes in the 2020 budget at $27,540. So far this year the program has cost $11,245.
“The current program structure is the best use of resources,” Zubick said in her report. “It is financially prudent as well as an effective use of time.”
A final decision is expected at today’s council meeting.
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