The public health and safety threat posed by discarded needles used most likely for intravenous drug use has been a persistent problem for Maine’s largest city, and one recent case illustrates the ambiguity of who is responsible for removing the sharp and dangerous hazards they present.
A source contacted the Maine Wire on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, reporting discarded needles along railroad tracks near 185 Rand Road in Portland. The source said the syringes were first noticed the previous day and were found scattered along the tracks that run parallel to several commercial buildings in the area.
According to this source, the City of Portland had not sent anyone to clean up the used needles in the intervening 24 hours. He then contacted the Portland Police Department. An officer did stop by and acknowledged it was a “significant problem” but said he could not transport the needles in his vehicle, the source said.
The city was described as directing responsibility for cleanup to the railway authority.
The Maine Wire visited the site on Wednesday, November 5, confirmed the needles were still there and reached out to the City of Portland for a response. Jessica Grondin, the city’s Director of Communications and Digital Services, later returned the call and said she believed the “area may be private property and that the city could not assist.”
Both the source and the Maine Wire contacted CSX, the company associated with the rail line, and left messages but neither received a response.
The Maine Wire then visited the Portland Police Department headquarters at 109 Middle Street and shared photographs of the needles with the front desk officer. The officer consulted a supervisor and contacted the Department of Public Works to request cleanup.
As of 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, after dark, the needles remained in place, the Maine Wire documented.
This latest case comes as Portland continues to operate its long-standing Syringe Service Program, run by the Portland Public Health Division. The program provides sterile syringes, disposal containers, and overdose prevention supplies, along with connections to treatment and testing services. The program is part of the city’s public health harm reduction strategy and is designed to reduce transmission of infectious diseases and provide outreach to people who inject drugs.
Participants in the program are able to obtain sterile supplies and are offered sharps disposal options, including containers and drop-off sites located in parts of the city. However, discarded needles have continued to draw concern from nearby residents, businesses, and property owners who report finding syringes in public spaces outside designated disposal areas.
The Maine Wire returned to 185 Rand Road Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m. and discovered that the needles were still there. The Portland DPW, according to the city’s website, does not open until 8:00 a.m.
This 72-hour elapse between the situation being reported and acknowledged as dangerous, yet not cleaned up is just another three days in the life of a city grappling with deadly addiction, its detritus and the threats of collateral damage both pose. Like the tracks by Rand Road, the city waits for an overdue cleanup.
