Ontario PL Adds Needle Disposal

Some worried that library presents wrong image to public

By Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 2/15/2006

Like some other Canadian cities, London, ON, has a problem with intravenous drug use, and, like some other civic buildings, the London Public Library has installed in bathrooms yellow plastic bins, topped by red covers, for needle disposal.

“Unsafe needle disposal has been an issue since we relocated our Central Library just over three years ago onto the main street in the core of the city,” library spokeswoman Lynda Kirkham told LJ. “Issues concern people flushing used needles down toilets (and therefore blocking them) and occasionally throwing them into the garbage. This put staff at risk not only in unblocking toilets but also in emptying garbage containers and exposed the public as well.”

Before the installation in December 2005, the library gained support from a range of health, business, and public safety agencies, as well as the library employees’ union, but the library has faced criticism from London Free Press columnist Ian Gillespie, who wrote, “Putting needle disposal bins in library washrooms is a pathetically passive solution to the problem.” Gillespie suggested that the library hire security staff to check the bathrooms after use, but Kirkham called that “not financially feasible.”