Working for the city’s newly launched Clean Corp initiative, Christopher Ervin’s non-profit is among those tasked with collecting trash and wiping away the waste across West Baltimore.
Going into the project, the expectation was they'd be picking up massive mounds of garbage, but they were quickly prodded with a new problem.
“If you want walk in right along the fence," said Ervin.
We might find some more?" questioned FOX45 reporter Rebecca Pryor
Not might," Ervin laughed.
Hidden beneath the piles of debris, and sometimes, even scattered openly along the sidewalks, it’s not just trash cluttering the curbs.
"We were nowhere prepared for the volume of needles that we were finding," said Ervin, "Not just the back end of the grass or in the shadows, but literally in the middle of the sidewalks in the middle of the streets."
According to the CDC, discarded drug needles can lead to the spread of several diseases, including hepatitis and HIV.
It's a major concern for Ervin, with his crews alone collecting up to 1,000 needles a day.
"We've definitely collected thousands," he said.
Meanwhile, just blocks away, one of the city’s needle exchange mobile units is offering a safe space for used needles to be thrown away. However, with limited locations and timeslots, Ervin says clearly those efforts aren’t enough to solve the surge in syringes strewn throughout the city.
"There should be some type of secure receptacle because as a city we give out needles. For safety sake, there should be a safe way to collect them," he said, "So, wherever there's a trash can, there should be a receptacle right next to it.
Ervin says the receptacles would offer a 24-hour solution. One that’s desperately needed in several locations where the city's Clean Corp partners are stationed.
Locations where even after Ervin's crews perform a thorough sweep, days later, you're still guaranteed to find needles littering the streets.
"We're trying to get Baltimore to a better place," said Ervin.
FOX45 reached out to the Baltimore City Health Department, DPW, and the mayor's office on Monday asking if they’re aware of the sheer number of needles this group has been finding on a daily basis. FOX45 also asked if and how they plan to respond to the health hazard. At the time this article was published, our questions have gone ignored.