The Superior Express -

SHDHD executive director

National Drug Takeback Day is coming up on Saturday. South Heartland District Health Department (SHDHD), Area Substance and Alcohol Abuse Program (ASAAP) and local law enforcement agencies are encouraging residents to use this opportunity to get rid of old and unused prescription medications.

There are several safe and easy ways to dispose of drugs. The general public may take prescription and over-the-counter pills to area law enforcement officials National Drug Take Back Day, where they will be collected anonymously to be safely destroyed. In the South Heartland health district, locations include:

Walmart parking lot drop-off site in Hastings – from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, hosted by Adams County Sheriff’s Office and Hastings Police Department, Clay County’s Sheriff’s Office in Clay Center (provides ongoing disposal all year), Webster County Sheriff’s office in Red Cloud (provides ongoing disposal all year - call first: 402-746-2722)

“Every Day is Take Back Day” according to the DEA. In Hastings, there is now a new, permanent box outside of the pharmacy at Walmart in Hastings where the public may place old or unused medications, anonymously. In addition, any pharmacy within SHDHD’s counties (Adams, Clay, Nuckolls and Webster) will accept old prescription medications and see that they are properly destroyed. For more information and locations across Nebraska visit: https://www.nebraskameds.org/.

Another option to get rid of old pills is to use a system called Deterra. The Deterra safe at-home medication deactivation and disposal kit includes a small brown bag that contains a substance that deactivates and dissolves up to 15 pills when water is added to the ingredients. The entire DeTerra package containing the pills can then be thrown away with household trash. Larger bags are available for larger quantities of pills. Free Deterra kits are available at several locations within the health district and at the SHDHD. Contact SHDHD at (877)238-7595 for more information.

Unused pills left in the home pose a public safety and public health threat. They can cause accidental poisoning to children and pets. Sometimes they are taken intentionally by people we would not ordinarily suspect. It’s also important to get rid of them in ways that don’t hurt the environment.