If you have expired or unused prescription drugs, you can safely dispose of them Saturday (4/27).  Oskaloosa Police and the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office will hold a prescription drug take back day Saturday from 10am to 2pm at Mahaska Drug in Oskaloosa.  Mahaska County Sheriff Russ Van Renterghem has more.

“Anybody is welcome to clean out their medicine cabinets of their old or expired or outdated or no longer needed medication. We’d rather see them do that than throw them in the landfill or flush them down the toilet where they get into the water systems, that type of thing.  It may not seem like a big deal, but some of this medication, especially some of your chemotherapy and so forth, a very little bit of it can be very toxic.  And it can spread, especially through the ground water.”

In Iowa during last October’s drug take back day, 88 law enforcement officers worked at 128 collection sites throughout the state and collected 10,444 pounds of unused prescription drugs. More than 123,500 pounds of unused drugs have been collected in Iowa since the beginning of the drug take back program.

There will also be a drug take back day in Knoxville this Saturday at the Hy-Vee from 10am to 2pm; and at the Pella Hy-Vee Saturday from 10 until 2.  This is a free service.