Pointed Observation

Matthew Nash

People hate needles.

Children bawl when facing inoculations.

Dentists smooth-talk patients before injecting a numbing agent.

Humans' fear of needles goes so far as to frighten some just with the sight of the pointy inanimate objects.

I once was that way.

Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes - juvenile diabetes - weeks before starting my freshman year of college, needles were thrown into my life, figuratively of course.

Vivid pictures of a nurse teaching me to properly inject insulin into an orange haunt me to this day.

She was an overbearing behemoth of a woman, and I was certain if I didn't learn to inject myself right, she'd show me with the largest hypodermic on hand.

Eventually I got it down to a science. I had to because for me needles were like a carpenter's hammer or writer's pen - essential.

Thankfully, resources such as that stubborn but well-meaning nurse, nutritionists, endocrinologists and diabetes educators were all around me in Portland, Ore., where I lived.

When I moved to Sequim it faintly dawned on me that some or all of these resources might not be available.

Needle dilemma

After about a month in Sequim, I had filled a sharps container - a red plastic sanitary storage device for needles. Back home, it was customary to go to the pharmacy, buy a new sharps container and exchange the old one for free.

When I spoke with my pharmacist here, she didn't have any in stock and had to consult a catalog for ordering more.

I thought sharps containers were common, but not with my pharmacy.

So, being an impatient 20-something, I went to another pharmacy and a similar situation happened.

The pharmacist could order me one, but none were in stock.

What was the deal?

Visiting my third pharmacy, a pharmacist said, "No, we don't carry those, but I think I have something that might be better."

He handed me a pamphlet on how citizens can dispose of needles through their home trash.

"This is how we do it here," he said.

Sequim gets to the point

Currently, Washington does not have a contract with any medicinal waste company specifically for needles.

In Portland, services to take used medicinal needles are available through hospitals, pharmacies and other agencies.

Sequim has some but not nearly so many options because of its size and the costs associated with needle disposal.

In the 1980s-1990s, Washington hospitals disposed of needles through incineration but, as people became more environmentally aware, this stopped.

Washington researchers did studies in the early 1990s and found blood-borne diseases were not transmitted easily, so the state left disposal up to local ordinances.

Bigger cities with larger tax bases and higher populations of insulin-dependent diabetics have these services.

Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, said Sequim and the surrounding cities use the common rural disposal method - sealed bottle containers that are put in with one's home trash.

Starting 21/2 years ago, residents with used needles have been told to bottle them in a No. 1 or 2 plastic container, typically a 2-liter bottle, post a red warning on the side, tape the opening, and put it with the trash for disposal or take it to a waste transfer station.

Iva Burks, Clallam County Health and Human Services director, said coffee cans are not appropriate for disposal because they can be crushed easily in the garbage and the needles can be scattered.

Isn't that taboo?

Locke said the studies done in the 1990s showed capped needles hold up well in sealed bottles and shouldn't pose a threat.

"It's rare that a sanitation worker is poked by a needle," he said.

"They touch the container holding the garbage, not the containers in the garbage."

Locke said studies show that this method of disposal is the environmentally safest way to store needles in landfills rather than burning them or paying for an expensive transfer service.

"Needles are crush resistant while in a plastic container," Locke said.

The chance of the needles getting in the wrong hands is slight, too.

He said needle exchange waste goes directly into the biomedical hazard exchange, so reuse is not possible by drug users or needle dealers.

Another man's trash ...

Disposing of needles in an empty soda bottle isn't the only method in Sequim.

Some local pharmacies will exchange sharps containers, red plastic containers, for a fee.

• Frick Rexall Drugs, 609 W. Washington St., Sequim, will accept a sharps container if you buy one from their store.

• Jim's Pharmacy, 424 E. Second St., Port Angeles, will take sharp containers and dispose of them for a $10 fee.

• QFC Pharmacy, 990 E. Washington St., Sequim, accepts containers from QFC pharmacy clients only and charges $3 for small and $5 for large containers.

Pharmacy policies change, so ask your pharmacist for more information.

Locke said sharps containers can be thrown away but do not hold up as well as other types of plastics.

A brochure on needle disposal is available at the Clallam County Health and Human Services office in the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.

It also is available on the Web at www.clallam.net/healthservices/html/syringe.htm.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.