OurPDX » litter http://ourpdx.com Collaborative coverage of news and events, with a focus on community. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Watch Where You Step! http://ourpdx.com/2008/10/watch-where-you-step/ http://ourpdx.com/2008/10/watch-where-you-step/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:57:02 +0000 Lizzy Caston http://ourpdx.net/?p=1345

No Gravatar

**This is a public service announcement about a health hazard plaguing the streets of Portland.**

Beware the hazards of the city

Beware the hazards of the city


It might have been early training navigating around the copious amounts of merde on the streets of Paris, France, but I tend to look down when walking the streets and sidewalks of Portland. Usually what I see is fairly innocuous: lots of empty Newport cigarette packs, crumpled potato chip bags, a sad used condom or so, badly written love letters, a lost earring or the occasional nickel, dime or quarter seem to be typical sidewalk findings. I once even found a roll of bills that added up close to fifty dollars.

Recently however, I’ve been noticing lots of hypodermic needles, especially in downtown and around the fringes of Northwest Portland. Yesterday I spotted one next to the dumpster behind the Panda Express on W. Burnside where I park my car in the morning while getting coffee at Coffeehouse Northwest. Last week I spotted two used needles on SW 4th and Stark at the bus stop. Today, this lone capped specimen was seen on the busy sidewalk at the corner of SW Washington and Park.

Any ideas if there is an increase in intravenous drug use happening, or am I just noticing it more?
Also, what should I do when I find these needles? Should I pick them up and throw them away, or is there a standard way I am supposed to dispose of them?

Related Posts

]]> http://ourpdx.com/2008/10/watch-where-you-step/feed/ 5