Portland’s needle exchange program distributed over a million syringes last year and had almost 90% of them returned, the highest return rate in four years.
Bridget Rauscher, Portland’s Public Health Director, credits the city’s pilot program that paid clients 10 cents for every needle returned — up to $20 a week.
‘We have a high number of clients who have unstable housing or who are unsheltered, and they often don’t have a safe place to dispose of syringes, other than bringing them back to us,” Rauscher said.
Rauscher said her office plans to expand return hours and increase the $20 cap later this year.
“As a public health program that’s also operating a harm reduction program, it was really important for us to respond to community concerns around syringe litter, and so we were looking to just be creative,” Rauscher said.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.