From the needle drop box data of the city of Ottawa, I have found that the most common type of location for boxes is in fire stations. There is 19 fire stations listed out of 49 operating fire stations within the city’s boundaries.

Why isn’t there boxes in every fire stations?

Another question that comes to mind why certain wards don’t have drop boxes in fire stations. One would think four wards were left out of the loop. But, when mapping the addresses of these 19 fire stations, I found that those fire stations are located on the boundaries between two or more wards.

The original data of all needle drop boxes also shows that in areas such as Rideau-Vanier, boxes can be found at in locations such as Burger King or the Snack Shack. The fire stations with boxes are on the edge of the ward. Which type of location is the safest? Most trust fire stations in comparison to restaurants on Montreal Road.

In order to know more on this, I would communicate with Marc Messier, spokesperson for the Fire Services of Ottawa. I would also communicate with councillors of wards with no drop boxes in fire stations such as Gloucester-Southgate and Knoxdale-Merivale. Both of these wards are still in urban areas.

In order to add substance to this story, I would find residents that require the services of needle drop boxes in the wards where the boxes do not exist in fire stations to find out what other method they use to dispense of their used needles.