Cary Medical Center is pleased to partner with the Caribou Police Department in providing a safe place for community members to dispose of dangerous medical sharps.  Starting February 24th, community members who use medical sharps will be able (Left to right), Kevin Goodine, Cary Safety Officer; Lisa Prescott, MT(ASCP), Cary Laboratory Technologist; Mark Draper, President of the Caribou Rotary Club; Chief Mike Gahagan, Caribou Police Department; Nick Archer, Regional Manager, Maine Department of Environmental Protection; Ann King, RN, Cary Infection Control Practitioner; Anna Michaud, MLT, Cary Laboratory Technologist; and Bill Flagg, Director, Cary Community Relations and Development. to safely dispose of containers of their used needles in a special kiosk located in the Caribou Police Department Lobby.  The generous donation of the Caribou Rotary along with funds provided by the Presque Isle Kiwanis, Caribou Legion Auxiliary, and others have enabled the establishment of this program whereby needles and other sharps will be safely disposed of in a way that protects the public.

The kiosk pictured will accept containers of needles, lancets, and other sharps and be emptied on a monthly or as needed basis by Oxus Environmental, the same biomedical waste facility used by area hospitals and clinics.  Hazardous sharps that could carry life threatening disease organisms will be incinerated.  Currently biomedical waste that is generated in homes and throughout the community is thrown into regular garbage.  This practice endangers the whole community but particularly waste handlers, children, and pets.

Acceptable containers for the kiosk include:

• Special 1.4 qt. sharps containers available from the police department, Cary Diabetes Education offices, the Cary Medical Center Laboratory, and Pines offices.
• Hard rigid plastic laundry or fabric softener bottles up to 1 gallon in size are acceptable.  Please mark these "do not recycle" when used in the home to collect sharps.

Unacceptable containers:

• coffee cans
• glass bottles
• beverage containers

Selection of the Caribou Police Department lobby was carefully chosen as the site for this kiosk because of its prime location in the community, its 24-hour availability, and the dedicated commitment of the Police Department to the safety of its citizens.  Not only can outdated prescriptions be disposed of at the station, but also used medical sharps.  It is anticipated that as further funding comes into the Cary Community Sharps Program, other sites in the County will be able to provide needle drop off containers.