South Heartland District Health Department

Drug takeback events April 26

April 22, 2025

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National Drug Takeback Day is coming up on Saturday, April 26. Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Hastings Police Department, South Heartland District Health Department (SHDHD), Area Substance and Alcohol Abuse Prevention (ASAAP) and law enforcement agencies in Webster and Clay counties 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. To participate in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.)’s National Drug Take Back Day, the general public may take prescription and over-the-counter pills to area law enforcement officials on Saturday, April 26, 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 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, April 26, 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)
• Adams County Sheriff’s Office will also accept drugs at the Adams County Courthouse, on MWF, all year

Drug takeback days are a good opportunity to rid your home of unused or expired medications and also a good time to make sure that all of your medicines are kept somewhere safe – up and away and out of sight. Here’s why: Approximately 35,000 young children are brought to the emergency room each year because they got into medicines that were left within reach, according to the Up & Away initiative (a collaboration between PROTECT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).  

Michele Bever, executive director for South Heartland District Health Department, said that unused pills left in the home pose a public safety and public health threat. “Unused medications can cause accidental poisoning to children and pets and sometimes are taken intentionally by people we would not ordinarily suspect,” she said.

“For the sake of children, pets, adult family members, visitors and others, please clean out medicine cabinets and get rid of your old medications using a drug disposal option that won’t hurt the environment,” Bever said.

While April 26 provides a special emphasis on drug take back, “Every Day is Take Back Day” according to the D.E.A., and there are several other ongoing options available locally. There is a 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/.

The Deterra safe at-home medication deactivation and disposal kit is another option to dispose of unused or expired medications. Free Deterra kits, supplied by ASAAP, are available at ASAAP and at SHDHD, along with several other locations within the 4-county area.

In case of a poisoning emergency, contact Poison Control Center (800)222-1222.  For more information about how to dispose of old medications safely, contact SHDHD at (877) 238-7595 or ASAAP (402) 463-0524.

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