Syringes in the streets: Who cleans them up in Albuquerque?

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After a large pile of an estimated 500 syringes was found on a pedestrian bridge that is frequented by Albuquerque students, KRQE News 13 began looking into how syringes end up on the streets and who is responsible for picking up them across the city.

While many public health officials would like individuals who use syringes to properly dispose of their used ones, that is not always the case in many cities across the country, including Albuquerque. “Anytime that folks are congregating in an area, there’s going to be litter, and sometimes if there’s substance use, there’s going to be syringes related to that substance use litter there,” said Joshua Swatek, Hepatitis and Harm Reduction program manager at the
New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH).

Household sharps container. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency)

NMDOH is just one of the entities that helps collect and dispose of syringes across the state. In Albuquerque, NMDOH has drop boxes at its Midtown, Southwest Valley, and North Valley public health offices where people can dispose of their used syringes. If you don’t have access to a sharps container, there are other options.

“So basically you take, again, a heavy plastic, a thick plastic bottle, put your syringes in there, tape it up, mark it sharps, close it, and make sure it’s tightly sealed, and then you can put it in with your household trash,” Swatek said, adding that personal sharps containers can only be disclosed in the trash in Albuquerque.

In addition to its own efforts, the NMDOH also works with other groups and harm reduction providers, like the New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaborative in Albuquerque, to collect syringes and provide safe injection and smoking supplies.

The New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaborative receives funding from NMDOH to hand out supplies including, but not limited to, syringes, pipe covers, tin foil, safe sex items, and naloxone, which is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. The New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaborative gives out the items for free at its location at 5500 Domingo Rd. NE in the International District. The organization also delivers supplies out of its Westside satellite office.

“We have such a large community of people that use drugs. And because of the fact that we do have this very large community, and they have needs, we want to make sure to provide them with the safest possible options,” said Ashley Charzuk, executive director of New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaborative. “Providing something like, you know, sterile syringes is, you know, something that a lot of people usually can understand because of bloodborne illness. But something like smoking foil or injection alternatives, we provide those because we want people to have autonomy over their situation.”

Syringes given out by the New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaborative in Albuquerque. (Digital Reporter Fallon Fischer)

Smoking pipe covers and mouthpieces given out by the New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaborative in Albuquerque. (Digital Reporter Fallon Fischer)

When people visit the New Mexico Harm Reduction Collaborative, they can dispose of their syringes in a bin and also receive a free sharps container. “That’s one of the most important things that we provide. We provide several different sizes, shapes, types of sharps containers because of the fact that, number one, it’s a city expense and it’s a state expense to have to clean up syringe waste, and also because we can’t always be there to like, you know, go pick up every syringe in the area,” Charzuk explained.

Charzuk said that her organization often does syringe cleanups around the neighborhood. “Sometimes we can even give incentive to our participants to help us look for syringes. So they can help out, make a few bucks, and we get the syringes cleaned up,” she said.

The City of Albuquerque has also made an effort to keep syringes off the streets. Parks and Recreation Department staff respond to 311 reports about syringes found on the ground and staff also empty public syringe kiosks/dropboxes at Bel-Air and Tower Park.

KRQE News 13 accompanied Parks and Recreation Department staff on June 26 as they removed syringes in an alley in the International District. While in the alley off of Central Avenue that spans about one-tenth of a mile between Louisiana Boulevard and Indiana Street, the crew picked up 53 syringes.

Parks and Recreation Department employees Alex Placencio and Javier Delgado found the syringes in trash piles on the ground, next to rotting food and feces, on cinderblock walls, behind fences, and even stuck in a telephone pole. “We do use our hands. It’s a lot easier, but we do a double pair of gloves on. And we always pick them up with the back part of the needle. Sometimes we use grabbers, depending where the needle is,” said Placencio. The duo noted that the most syringes they found in the alley at one time were 200 to 250.

After finishing at the first alley, the crew responded to a 311 report of needles in an alley between La Veta Drive and Alvarado Drive off of Lomas Boulevard NE. There, Placencio and Delgado picked up 20 syringes scattered in the dirt and bushes.

Placencio and Delgado placed the syringes in safe collection bottles and planned to bring them to a container at their office so they could be disposed of. “It’s important because it’s something that’s going on, not just here in our city, but everywhere else,” Placencio said. “And we just want to make it safe for our community, and of course kids, and everybody else.”

Alex Placencio with the City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department finds a syringe in an alley between La Veta Drive and Alvarado Drive off of Lomas Boulevard NE June 26, 2024. (Credit: KRQE Digital Reporter Fallon Fischer)

Javier Delgado (left) and Alex Placencio (center)with the City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department look for syringes in an alley between La Veta Drive and Alvarado Drive off of Lomas Boulevard NE on June 26, 2024. (Credit: KRQE Digital Reporter Fallon Fischer)

Parks and Recreation Department Associate Director Shay Armijo said the department receives reports about syringes in all areas of the city. “I wouldn’t say there’s really one area of town that’s worse than others. We find them throughout the whole city, unfortunately,” Armijo explained.

Armijo said if people find a syringe in a public area of Albuquerque, they can report it by calling 311 and providing a detailed description of its location. Another alternative is using the 311 app. “It’s really helpful because you can get a GPS coordinate and a picture and a description associated with it. So it helps us to find the sharps and pick them up faster,” said Armijo.

Armijo also noted that people should not touch random syringes on the ground and should wait for city staff to come to pick them up.