A Thunder Bay, Ontario, woman has come across three syringes lying on the ground as the spring sun melts the snow that has lain on the ground for what is, in Ontario, always a long, cold and snowy winter.

Rick Thompson, who works for Superior Points – a group that safely disposes of used needles – has tips for anyone who finds a used syringe. “We do see an increase in the amount of publicly discarded needles we find, some that have been left over the wintertime,” Thompson said. “It takes us about a month or so to catch up and get us down to our regular amount that we would be called for.”

Needles discarded into long grass or dense undergrowth, in snow or in sand can be difficult to locate but will lie hidden waiting to catch the unwary. For those in cold climates the spring thaw will often, as in Thunder Bay, result in a rash on needles that must be managed with speed and care.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2012/03/14/tby-needles-found-in-park.html

see also: https://www.ianblenkharn.com/archive/00000162.htm