SANTA CRUZ – In the nearly four years that the community group Take Back Santa Cruz formed its Needles Solutions Team, volunteers have recorded finding 11,745 used hypodermic needles that were improperly disposed throughout Santa Cruz County — averaging 261 found per month.

Between August and September this year, the group marked a significant spike in found needles, up to 423, but for the right reasons, said Take Back Santa Cruz founder Analicia Cube.

Santa Cruz city officials were involved with cleanups on the San Lorenzo River’s west levee and the Sycamore Grove area off Highway 9 and reported found needles, according to Cube.

Needle finds quick facts

• On Sept. 8: Take Back Santa Cruz self-reporting tool shows a mother reporting that child found a syringe in yard on San Lorenzo Boulevard, mistook it for a thermometer and put it in her mouth. She was not pricked by the needle.

• According to a 2008 Paediatrics and Child Health Journal article, the risk for children pricked by a needle of contracting a bloodborne virus is very low.

• On Aug. 23 on Lee Street, a resident found about 40 needles in an encampment next to her yard.

• General needle “hot spots” include the San Lorenzo River levee, Sycamore Grove, Depot Park, Cowell Beach, Neary Lagoon and Arana Gulch.

“The city has been forthright and amazing. The Parks and Rec Department, Mauro Garcia, Public Works, they give us their needle counts every month. That’s one reason you saw a big spike this month, because they did some big cleanups, some big hauls, and then report that to us,” Cube said.

The Santa Cruz City Council passed in August a new law requiring manufacturers and/or producers of sharps to fund their safe and orderly disposal of the needle waste. The city has invited county human services and/or health department officials to join its Neighborhood Safety Team to address drug abuse issues in city neighborhoods, said Deputy City Manager Scott Collins.

While Cube’s praise for the city of Santa Cruz’s efforts at transparency and accountability for discarded needles was high, she was critical of Santa Cruz County efforts in informing the public and responding to their concerns. In particular, Cube characterized the decision to include its biennial Syringe Services Program update during lengthy budget hearings in 2015 as “disingenuous” for such a hot-button issue. She added that she also would like to see county departments track and publicize their discarded needle cleanups, as the city has done, and consider creating a fund to offset medical costs for accidental needle stick testing.

“I have to keep putting this up in people’s faces. We need to get our open spaces and our beaches safe and we need to work together to get it done,” Cube said of the Needles Solutions’ findings. “We’re just going to keep on going until we feel like our community is at least in partnership with all of the agencies in Santa Cruz County.”

As early as February, Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency plans to double to about 3,200 the number of people treated for drug and alcohol abuse said the agency’s Alcohol and Drug Program Chief Bill Manov. Such a move may get at the core problem associated with needle use, using new leeway in spending state Drug Medi-Cal funding to assist low-income clients.

Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin said officials take the concerns of safe needle disposal seriously. Hoppin said he will help ensure better public notification during next year’s Syringe Services Program update. The county, in November, also approved a safe drug and sharps disposal law requiring 33 area sharps and drug producers and manufacturers to develop take-back programs.

“We’re always looking at ways to improve the program,” Hoppin said. “We’re Concerned about needles, although they do not represent a high public health risk.”

The county’s Syringe Services Program, requires at least a 1 to 1 exchange of an old needle for new, to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases associated with injection drug use and to address improperly discarded syringes. In its June 2016 report the county Health Services Agency reported dispensing 25,355 syringes in the previous year, and collecting 33,599. While the program’s staff members do not count turned in needles, due to safety concerns, they do their “due diligence” by visually inspecting and weighing returned needles, Hoppin said.

Report a found needle from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays in the city of Santa Cruz at 831-420-5160 or FoundNeedles@CityofSantaCruz.com. Call 911 at other times. To report a found syringe to the Needle Solutions Team, visit takebacksantacruz.org/needles-in-public-spaces. To find drug treatment options in Santa Cruz County, visit RecoveryWave.org.

NEEDLE COUNT

The Needles Solutions Team and Santa Cruz city parks staff reported the following number of discarded needles collected on streets, parks, beaches and other public areas in Santa Cruz County:

• Aug. 9 to Sept. 8: 423.

• July 9 to Aug. 8: 224.

• June 9 to July 8: 266.

• May 9 to June 8: 229.

• April 9 to May 8: 190.

• March 9 to April 8: 206.

• Feb. 9 to March 8: 222.

• Jan. 9 to Feb. 8: 291.

Source: Needles Solutions Team

NEEDLE FINDS QUICK FACTS

• On Sept. 8: A mother reports that child found a syringe in a San Lorenzo Boulevard yard, mistook it for a thermometer and put it in her mouth. She was not pricked by the needle.

• According to a 2008 study, the risk for children pricked by a needle of contracting a bloodborne virus is very low.

• On Aug. 23 on Lee Street, a resident found about 40 needles in an encampment next to her yard.

• General needle “hot spots” include the San Lorenzo River levee, Sycamore Grove, Depot Park, Cowell Beach, Neary Lagoon and Arana Gulch.

Source: Take Back Santa Cruz, Paediatrics and Child Health Journal.