WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee, Inc. announced today that all Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations throughout Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin will participate in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, April 24, according to a media release from the company.
According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 87,200 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses, primarily related to opioids, in a 12-month period from September to September 2020, with the largest increase in deaths occurring in April and May 2020 right after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Since 2019, drug take-back receptacles have been available inside all Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations year-round to provide customers a secure place to dispose of unused, unwanted or expired drugs in communities throughout the Midwest and remove them from the environment. To-date, Hy-Vee has collected more than 60,000 pounds of prescription drugs via its take-back receptacles.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Take-Back Day is a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription medications. The last Take-Back Day brought in more than 985,000 pounds of unused or expired prescription medication across the country.