A ‘Needle Pick-Up’ event will be held this Saturday, Sept. 2, starting at 4 p.m. at Burien’s Dottie Harper Park.
The goal is to scan the Park and safely remove and dispose of any needles found in the park.
Dottie Harper Park is located at 421 SW 146th Street (map below), and Volunteers can apparently just show up.
From the Facebook event page:
“Do you pass by needles on the street, in a park, or in the playground? Ever wonder how to handle them, or where to turn them in once you’ve got them off the street?
Come and learn how to pick up and dispose of used needles safely, and then join us as we go out into downtown Burien and dispose of the ones we find.
If you know of any ‘hot spots’ that we should check out, be sure to list them in the Discussion, otherwise we will focus on Dottie Harper Park first!”
Here’s more info from Burien resident – and city council Candidate – Krystal Marx, who organized this event:
“I have seen picture after picture that Burien residents have posted online about finding used needles in a park, on the street, in a parking lot, etc. on the “Take Back Burien” Facebook group page, and every time a picture is posted, the general rallying cry is that “someone” should do something.
Why not me?
I have conducted used needle pick-ups for over five years, focusing primarily in high-use areas in Seattle (The Colonnade in Eastlake, in Pioneer Square, under the viaduct, on Cap. Hill, SoDo), after receiving hands-on training in how to spot, safely secure and dispose of needles from volunteers in San Francisco’s Mission, SoMa and Tenderloin districts.
This event was created to not just get a few needles off the street, but to teach others how to do it safely and to inspire confidence in our ability, as Burien residents, to take care of our community. Participants will learn what personal protective equipment (PPE) to have with them, how to spot clues that there may be needles nearby, how to pick them up safely, how to store them, and where to deliver the needles when they are done.
Yes, we pay taxes and have a Public Works department who handles street cleanup, but what is preventing us from taking pride in our community and doing cleanups like this as needed? We do it for our fantastic dog park, we do it for Clean Sweep day, why not for something like this, which has a much more urgent need?
As a City Council candidate, this kind of community involvement and personal responsibility is what I believe in, which is why I decided to put this event together.”
More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/415807438821654/
