A safe syringe disposal box is in the public lobby of the Wilmington Police Headquarters.
"Really all of this is built on our understanding that not every challenge that could be facing a member of our community is best meant by a traditional police or law enforcement response. So we like to try to do everything we can to help leverage our position as a community service organization to have a government agency to be able to connect our residents with resources," said David Karas, policy and communications director with the Wilmington Police Department.
Support from the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services Office of Health Crisis Response and Choice MedWaste helped with the installation.
Choice MedWaste will also maintain, regularly inspect, and empty the disposal box.
The box allows for anonymous disposal of syringes and sharps to offer people a safe disposal site instead of the streets - and access at its location on 300 North Walnut Street will be accessible 24 hours a day.
"All of our partnerships with Health and Social Services, with the New Castle County Mobile Health Unit, with our community health centers like Henrietta Johnson and Westside Family Healthcare, and now this initiative and be able to provide this resource at our facility. I think all of these are wonderful ways for us to help the community and to kind of build on our collective efforts with our office with the mayor's administration and all the other city departments to try to find ways to uplift our community," said Karas.
The syringe disposal box joins a prescription drug drop box also available in the public lobby of police headquarters.
