BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. — We never want to find syringes, needles and sharps in our city parks or neighborhoods but people often do.

“Unfortunately, they will be right next door or right by a playground and there’s been some instances where we’ve seen some needles on the ground next to toys and young kids,” said Erica Abeyta.

It isn’t just sharps used for substance use. People also use them for diabetes or medication injections.

No matter the use, Bernalillo County is hosting pickup events to help clean up our public spaces – and they need your help.

“We definitely don’t want community members to be stepping on a path and then step on a needle. That could poke through their shoes. That just enhances the risk of infection and disease,” said.

Bernalillo County’s Health Equity Council is partnering with the Department of Behavioral Health Services to clean up sharps Wednesday. They have several more events planned this year in some of the “hotspots” they’ve found.

“If there’s an area where we see an influx of syringes, we will just flag it and then, later on, make sure to add it to be locations to keep coming out to those areas periodically,” said.

Whether someone is picking up sharps at the cleanup events or doing it on their own, county officials say safety is key.

“If you see needles, you want to have a sharps container with you. We discourage people from putting needles in a glass container or anywhere a needle may poke through,” said.

The pickup event Wednesday is in northwest Albuquerque at Estancia and Central from 1-4 p.m.

MORE:

• Volunteers needed for upcoming syringe and needle pickup events