New Peterborough needle bins will make streets safer

Fiona Henry set up the Needless Needles campaign last year after seeing city streets and parks littered with discarded and dangerous syringes.

The campaign saw mums highlighting needle hotspots, and campaigning to get them cleared quicker.

Yesterday 10 new bins were installed across the city to try and put a stop to the problem.

Ms Henry said the campaign group had worked with Peterborough City Council to make sure the bins were put in the most useful locations.

She said: “We have noticed a reduction in the number of discarded needles we are seeing but there is obviously still an issue.

“The data we have been collecting about discarded needles has helped us to decide where the bins are located and will continue to inform us about whether extra bins are required, or if these new bins would be more suitable in a different location.

“We hope that we will see a larger reduction in needles being discarded in public places but the work will be ongoing.”

Two bins have been located at Broadway Cemetery, with the others erected at the Bourges Boulevard underpass, the Stanley Recreation Ground, theNorth Bank Road / Carr Road underpass, near ASDA on the south bank of the river, the Wharf Road cycle path, the Dickens Street cycle path, the Morris Street cycle path (Wellington Street end) and at Kesteven Walk.

Councillor Irene Walsh, Peterborough City Council’s cabinet holder for communities, said: “Discarded needles are not an uncommon sight in many towns and cities in the UK. So this is not a problem unique to Peterborough, but we want to do everything within our power to protect the health and safety of the public.”