Question
(Sharps)
- How many sharps were collected, every month, by government workers between 1 January 2022 to 28 October 2023.
- How many reports were made to the sharps hotline, every month, between 1 January 2022 to 28 October 2023.
- How many other pieces of drug paraphernalia broken down by type, ie, bongs, pipes, spoons, were collected, every month, by government workers between 1 January 2022 to 28 October 2023.
- Can the Minister provide a breakdown of the top 10 areas in Canberra that collects the most amount of sharps and drug paraphernalia.
Answer
(1) City Services rangers do not collect data on sharps from routine cleaning activities such as emptying of sharps containers in public toilet blocks. The following table identifies the total number of sharps collected following reports made through Fix my Street.
Month | Jan-22 | Feb-22 | Mar-22 | Apr-22 | May-22 | Jun-22 | Jul-22 | Aug-22 | Sep-22 | Oct-22 | Nov-22 | Dec-22 |
Sharps | 23 | 16 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
Month | Jan-23 | Feb-23 | Mar-23 | Apr-23 | May-23 | Jun-23 | Jul-23 | Aug-23 | Sep-23 | Oct-23 |
Sharps | 17 | 15 | 26 | 14 | 14 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 12 | 17 |
(2) The table outlines the calls by month to the Sharps hotline from 1 January 2022 through to 28 October 2023.
Month | Number of reports to sharps hotline |
Jan-22 | 32 |
Feb-22 | 29 |
Mar-23 | 26 |
Apr-22 | 17 |
May-22 | 27 |
Jun-22 | 22 |
Jul-22 | 16 |
Aug-22 | 27 |
Sep-22 | 37 |
Oct-22 | 16 |
Nov-22 | 17 |
Dec-22 | 21 |
Jan-23 | 31 |
Feb-23 | 26 |
Mar-23 | 40 |
Apr-23 | 28 |
May-23 | 29 |
Jun-23 | 41 |
Jul-23 | 28 |
Aug-23 | 35 |
Sep-23 | 29 |
Oct-23 | 21 |
(3) City Services rangers collect these items in routine cleaning activities, and they are considered general waste. As a consequence, the ACT Government does not retain any data on the total number of items collected.
(4) Refer to 3.