Augusta, Maine Floats New Needle Exchange Program to Reduce Dirty

It's something that cities all around the United States of America have been dealing with for decades, though the frequency in which it happens has been increasing drastically in recent years. We're talking about used dirty needles discarded in public areas.

Recently, we've reported on other cities in Maine, like Portland, having created needle exchange programs in their city to help reduce the instances of people coming across dangerous, dirty and discarded used needles in public areas.

From parking lots to sidewalks and even playgrounds where are children gather, used needles have started turning up all over the place around Maine, and now, our very home city is floating a plan to try and combat this increasing epidemic.

According to an article published by WGME 13, with the increase in used needles being discarded on the ground in Augusta is on the rise, one Augusta City Councilor has proposed a potential solution- Paying people 5 cents for every used needle they turn in.

WGME is reporting that at least one organization is running a needle exchange program in the city already, but there is no such program currently being run by the city itself.

Augusta City Councilor Kevin Judkins, said in part about the proposal,

"I know that used needles in every nook and cranny of Augusta is a problem. So, I started thinking if it worked well for that how could we maybe model it for this? I want to have the conversation. I'm not saying I have all the answers, it's just an idea,”