Eureka to offer free sharps containers at city facilities

EUREKA – Eureka will move forward with a plan to distribute free sharps containers at city facilities.
Council approved the plan after the community called for action at December’s meeting.
Soon, the Adorni Center, Wharfinger Building, EPD Headquarters, Humboldt Bay Fire Stations 1-4 and City Hall will offer free sharps bins that can be disposed of at Humboldt Waste Management Authority, also for free.
The cost of the containers is included in the city’s contract with HWMA, so the bins won’t require additional funds.
Staff and council continue to look for ways to prevent discarded needles in the first place.
Eureka City Manager Greg Sparks said, “Mayor Pro Tem Bergel brought this forward is to try to bring forth an ordinance that deals with needle exchange whether that’s a one to one program with certain parameters. So council is very interested and [Bergel] was able to provide us with a draft of some of the main things she would like to see in that ordinance and the city attorney and other staff will be working on that over the next couple of weeks.”
Sparks said the bins will be available in the next few weeks.