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In 2017, New York City’s drug crisis was unfurling at an alarming rate. Used syringes littered the ground of public spaces with nearly 5,000 syringes collected every week. Without a place to dispose of the paraphernalia, syringes were left in parks, playgrounds, public restrooms, and even near schools. In response, the city installed 47 syringe disposal kiosks in areas with the highest rates of littered syringes, a measure that would prevent syringe litter from rising while the opioid crisis continued to worsen. By September 2025, only 23 kiosks remain active, leaving hotspots for syringe litter vulnerable to a crisis that has only increased in severity since 2017.
The Bronx and Chinatown are hotspots for littered syringes.
A needlestick injury can expose children, community members, and pets to blood borne illnesses like HIV and Hepatitis C. The South Bronx has been hit hardest by the drug epidemic, representing multiple high-intensity hotspots for syringe litter. Chinatown and the Lower East Side also demonstrate a concentrated number of recovered ground syringes. In an effort to combat the syringe litter, 54 syringe disposal kiosks were installed in syringe hotspots in the Bronx while 23 were placed in Manhattan and one was installed in Brooklyn.
Syringe kiosks installed near hotspots.
The most popular syringe disposal kiosk, Kiosk 58, was located just outside of the Bronx in Harlem’s Highland Bridge Park. During its two and a half year lifetime, from 2019 to 2022, it managed to collect a whopping 31,793 syringes, preventing the disposed syringes from becoming a hazard on the ground. After Kiosk 58 broke, it was removed and despite its proven success, another kiosk was not reinstalled.
Many of the most successful kiosks in the Bronx have been removed.
In 2021, syringe counts for areas without a kiosk take a turn for the worst with a dramatic increase in syringe rates. Despite its initially low ground syringe count, numbers skyrocketed to 17,686 syringes collected from the ground during the month October in 2024.In 2018, sites with low syringe litter didn’t receive kiosks. Syringe litter spiked as result.
Littered syringe rates increase in areas without a syringe kiosk.
Areas with a syringe kiosk showed high rates of littered syringes from 2018 to 2021 marking these sites as recipients for the syringe disposal kiosk. As the years progress, the numbers do not steadily increase, instead they spike shortly from 2021 to 2022 during the COVID-19 Pandemic and then fall to rates less than half of their kioskless counterparts. Areas with a kiosk that were once viewed as hotspots now have rates that are low compared to counterparts with no kiosks.
Littered syringes in areas with a kiosk do not spike.
In spite of their ability to reduce syringe litter, nearly half of New York City’s syringe disposal kiosks have been removed with only 22 active kiosks remaining.
Syringe collection kiosks are disappearing.
NYC’s harm reduction efforts are proven to keep public spaces safe. As public drug usage continues to be a daily struggle for the city, reimplementing kiosk syringes may be the key to preventing increasing rates of littered syringes and keeping public spaces free of syringes.