“A group of mums in a housing block in Warddykes Road, Arbroath, are fed up with nothing being done about the dangerous litter left behind by drug addicts in the area.

“Louise Martin told the Arbroath Herald that three boys on Tuesday found a total of five needles where her children regularly play just round the corner from the main entrance to the block.

“Louise complained that, despite both the council and the police being informed about the needles, over an hour had passed and they were still in situ.

An hour does not seem very long, between finding and reporting a discarded needle and its safe removal. However, the national audit of Local Authority management of discarded needles found many bold claims of responsive fast-track services matched with a generally lax performance that included:

• many 24 hour services being nothing more that a 9-5 service plus and answerphone
• recommendations that persons finding discarded needles pick them up and take them home…withough suitable PPE items, but nonetheless predicated for reasons of  safety!
• inadequate or misleading safety advice
• a lack of agreement over the use of impromptu containers for discarded sharps with some LAs recommending to those finding discarded sharps that they pick them up and put them inside drinks cans while others specifically forbid this on the grounds of safety and demiand that only plastic or glass bottles are used

These problems are obviously complex social issues that cannot be solved easily or squickly, though safety requirements that demand prompt removal of discarded sharps cannot be abandoned just because it is difficult or costly.

While Arbroath residents complain about their Local Authorities apparently tardy response times to clear sharps, it takes only a moment to look at the Angus Council web pages. There, the Council give detail of sharps collections and a phone number for reports of needle finds.

Sadly, the Council index only “syringes” on their web site – seach for “needles” and you will not find any information. Once on the correct page, the advice given does include some basic safety information – “do not touch”, “do not cover”, “do not recap”. Unfortunately, the same web page has links to recycling information, which rather undoes any good work and suggests to the viewer that needles can be recycled!

Service standards for needle retrieval are not given in detail. However, Angus Council state that they will collect only in working hours and that outside working hours those finding needles discarded in public places should call the Police.

It’s hardly an admirable service standard that