Yesterday, for Earth Day, my friend Kara decided to go to the park between North Road halls and the Indian markets and pick up trash. She talked me into coming by for an hour or so eventually, so with gloves and several trash bags we picked up literally thousands of bottles (mostly alcohol), snack wrappers, and cigarette cartons.
When I started finding needles all over the ground, I didn't feel so inspired to clean the area. Why should I pick up trash, I thought, so that junkies can have a clean place to shoot up? Maybe it's wrong to think of it that way. But when people use drugs and leave their paraphernalia littered on the ground, who is supposed to clean it up? I think every community wants clean public spaces and parks that are safe for kids to play in, but who picks up after "bad" people who leave hypodermic needles scattered in the bushes?
Googling this, I found my answer... volunteers. Here's one story of a many who devotes many hours a week to cleaning up his neighborhood and organizing cleanup efforts:
"Aggressive and single-minded in his search, the burly, 38-year-old former Marine
reconnaissance swimmer is hell-bent on cleaning up parks and neighborhoods throughout
the Eugene-Springfield area where drug users toss needles after shooting up.
"This has become my passion," said Ferguson, who began volunteering last year with the Eugene-based HIV Alliance."
-Pinpointing Needles
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