The Augusta Police Department offers a drop-off box for used hypodermic needles at its station at 7 Willow St. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

AUGUSTA — City officials are considering seeking a partner to create a system to pay people for turning in used hypodermic needles that are often seen on Augusta’s streets.

City Councilor Kevin Judkins of Ward 2 suggested Augusta work with others, potentially a local organization already running a needle exchange program, to create a program that would pay people 5 cents for each used needle they bring in.

He said it would be a way to help rid the city of syringes that are not discarded properly, including by drug users in public places.

“I used to own a redemption center and the bottle law really has worked. It’s taken a lot of litter off our streets,” Judkins said at Thursday night’s City Council meeting. “And I know is that used needles in every nook and cranny in Augusta is a problem. So I started thinking if it worked well for (bottles and cans), how could we maybe model it for (hypodermic needles)?

“If we cleared 100,000 needles off our streets, that’d only cost us $7,000. If we cleared 200,000 needles off our streets, it’d only be $14,000. It’d be for public safety and getting those things taken care of in a good way. And at the same time, when they bring them in, they get clean needles. They get harm reduction.”

He said the program could be funded by some of the city’s share of opioid settlement funds.

Augusta is far from the only community trying to find a solution to discarded hypodermic needles.

An improperly discarded hypodermic needle in an alley in September in Portland. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald file

The city of Portland recently approved a similar pilot needle buyback program, also to be funded with opioid settlement funds. The program will pay people 5 cents for each used syringe they return to the city, with a cap of $10 per person per day.

City councilors in the York County community of Sanford voted this month to limit its used needle exchange program to a one-to-one rate. Previously, people could get up to 100 syringes in return for a used needle.

In Augusta, city councilors, following a lively, wide-ranging discussion Thursday night prompted by the proposal, agreed that City Manager Jared Mills should research the issue and come back to councilors with information on the proposal that the city add boxes where drug users could deposit used hypodermic needles, or sharps.

Mills has also been asked to look into existing organizations with which the city could partner to collect used needles, and create an incentive program, such as that proposed by Judkins, to pay people for turning in used needles that might otherwise be discarded improperly.

Officials said there are already needle exchange programs in Augusta, including one on Green Street that is affiliated with MaineGeneral Health. The city might be able to partner with such a program.

Ward 3 Councilor Mike Michaud asked if the city or others are still working to prevent the availability of illegal drugs used in hypodermic needles. He also asked about efforts to help those recovering from drug addiction.

Mills, the city’s former police chief, said drug enforcement efforts continue to take place, along with recent efforts to help drug addicts receive treatment. He warned, however, that such efforts have not been greatly successful in the past.

The Augusta Police Department offers a drop-off box for used hypodermic needles at its station at 7 Willow St. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

“It was: ‘Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement. Let’s arrest our way out of it,’ and that didn’t work for the 25 years I was in my other career,” Mills said. “So then it became about opening our eyes to treatment and recovery and harm reduction and things like that. So this is just one component of the other things that are going on. Whether we solve that problem, I don’t know.”

Some city councilors said they are worried that providing a financial incentive to collect and turn in used hypodermic needles could draw people other than drug users, including children, to collect needles for money, which could expose them to risk of infection.

“I don’t think I’d be in favor of you just bring a needle in and you’re going to get 5 cents,” Ward 4 Councilor Eric Lind said. “Because at that point, people who maybe need some money may be searching for needles, or kids may be doing it, and not handling them properly, and they are dangerous.”

At-Large Councilor Courtney Gary-Allen, the organizing director of the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project and a member of the Maine Recovery Council, said all needle exchange programs in Maine are restricted to serving those 18 or older. If the city were to partner with one a program to pay people for turning in hypodermic needles, she said, it would prevent children from taking part.

Gary-Allen added that participation in a program that pays people to turn in used hypodermic needles could be limited to those taking part in needle exchange programs.

At-Large Councilor Stephanie Sienkiewicz said that while Augusta could inadvertently cause other problems while trying to address the issue with used hypodermic needles, doing nothing allows the existing risks to continue.

“We’ve all heard about discarded needles around town,” Sienkiewicz said. “We know there have been some pretty significant funds spent cleaning up biohazards, so I think conversations around this are really necessary. There are potential downsides to something like this — I don’t want to brush those aside. At the same time, I’m willing to see how this plays out and deal with those problems as they arise.

“The needles are a risk to the community. People may interact with them as they are on the ground now. That’s a risk that exists. I’m not sure incentivizing people to pick them up increases the risk. The community wants this taken care of. I’d be happy to move ahead with something.”