Courtney Almas from the Northern Health Region spoke to Arctic Radio about needle safety as many needles are not properly disposed of.  She explains the first thing to do is not try to put the cap back on.  She notes it is safe to pick up the needle with tongs that you have at home or use pliers to pick it up by the end that isn’t sharp keeping the tongs away from your body and putting it in a hard sided container that has a lid, something like a bleach or laundry detergent bottle or even a hard sided juice bottle, then put the cap on writing sharps on the container and taking it to the closest community sharps disposal bin or any Northern Health Region facility. Almus wants to assure you that the risk of transmitting a disease from a discarded needle is very low. She notes it’s also a good idea to have gloves on when you dispose of a needle and children should never handle needles and they are encouraged to tell an adult right away if they see a discarded needle on the ground.