Litter-pickers collect 105 drug syringes in a day

A city litter-picking group said 105 discarded drug syringes were discovered by volunteers in a single day.

Peterborough Litter Wombles and Cadent Gas organised a pick in and around the fields off Thorpe Lea Road last week.

Volunteer Harry Machin said the group collected 21 bags of rubbish including the syringes, 42 discarded vapes and "lots of broken glass" from what looked like an abandoned campsite.

"These were actual needles on the ground and not just syringes. We thought dogs or even children could be exploring around the bushes," Mr Machin said. The city council said it was working with drug and alcohol treatment and waste teams to address the issue.

Mr Machin said usually the group might come across needles two or three times a month.

He said three needles were discovered the previous week near Padholme Road, off Boongate.

"Is it getting worse? I don't know. I can only comment on what I see - which I think is a tip of the iceberg," he said.

"The council have placed needle bins around the city and maybe that is helping to take them off the streets.

"We do see so many different vapes, though. You could make quite a collection with all of them.

"Every piece of litter we remove is something else that's not there on the ground building up to something worse."

He recalled another time in 2023 when the Litter Wombles collected an "unusual amount" of needles near Peterborough Regional College's car park.

"We found more than 200 needles before we stopped counting and had to inform the council to clear it," he said.

Peterborough City Council has placed needle bins in 10 locations around the city.

It said 205 items were put in them for disposal between 1 April 2024 and 31 March this year.

A spokesperson said: "The council continues to work with the drug and alcohol treatment services, our waste contractor Aragon and other teams in the council to address discarded needles in Peterborough.

"The provision of the bins has helped to reduce the number of discarded needles being found."

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