GANDER, N.L. — Health and Community Services Minister John Haggie would like to see other communities in the province follow Gander’s lead in placing metal sharps boxes around town for used needle disposal.
“The safe disposal of needles in containers such as sharps boxes helps protect the public from undue harm,” Haggie said in a news release in which he commended the town on Friday, March 29.
The department and College of the North Atlantic provided two boxes to the town through a joint initiative.
One has been located at the end of Bennett Drive, while the other will be placed in a location yet to be determined.
Sharps boxes are common in restrooms in public buildings, the release notes.
Haggie also acknowledged the City of St. John’s has undertaken a similar initiative.