‘True needle exchange’ behind fewer needles this spring: Saskatoon fire

It’s time to start spring cleaning and for most people, that means cleaning up their house or maybe their shed.

But for Saskatoon firefighters, it means picking up abandoned needles that are littered across the city.

Rob Hogan, deputy chief of operations and emergency communications for the Saskatoon Fire Department, joined Mark Loshack on the CKOM Morning Show to discuss the clean-up process.

After someone finds a needle, they should call the fire department at 306-975-2528 and stay with the needle.

“Secure it… by putting something over it like something hard like a shoe,” said Hogan. “If they can keep an eye on it and keep people away, that’s what they should do.”

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Hogan said if people are properly trained on disposing of needles, they can do it themselves, but he recommends people call 9-1-1 instead.

“If they feel comfortable and they know how to dispose of it, they can,” he said. “You can get sharps containers from pretty much any pharmacy, you can put it into a hard plastic or a glass container and dispose of it that way.”

In the recent weeks and months, the City of Saskatoon has been dealing with an overdose crisis and despite this, Hogan said they are seeing fewer needles on the street.

“We’ve seen quite a decline in the number of needles out in the community,” he said. “The government changed the program from just a needle giveaway to a true needle exchange.”

“Actual needles we picked up were 6294 in 2024, and so far this year, we’ve picked up 722.”

Hogan said there are a few areas they tend to frequent the most when it comes to needle pickup calls.

“The primary area that we pick up needles is downtown, 22nd street to the riverbank,” he said. “Then the riverbank to Avenue W, and then that core center area, 22nd street over to 16th (and) 17th Street.”

Now that the snow is melting, Hogan said there will be more proactive needle cleanups.

“There are a number of other groups that are picking up needles proactively,” he said. “We will go out in the spring, once the snow is all gone and we’ll do what we call park sweeps.”

This means the fire crews will walk through the parks and if they find needles, they will pick them up.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the correct contact number for the Saskatoon Fire Department.