Don’t throw it away! Donate and keep stuff out of the Landfill!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - 8:00am
Contact: 
Jane Wilch
Landfill and Recycling Center

Moving and can’t take all your stuff? The City of Iowa City encourages you to donate furniture, clothing, housewares, books, and other materials you no longer need, rather than sending still-usable items to the landfill.

To access a list of area nonprofits, agencies, and businesses that will accept donations, as well as buy or consign items, see the recently updated Iowa City Area Resale and Consignment Directory....

Stacks of Iowa City recycling carts.

New carts increase recycling participation in Iowa City

Monday, April 15, 2019 - 7:30am
Contact: 
Patricia Fossum
Jane Wilch
Resource Management

The City of Iowa City rolled out new recycling carts in December of 2018, and since then, the community has seen promising increases in recycling.

Last month, recycling tonnage increased by over 30% more material than this same time last year. The new carts have spurred excitement, and possibly even some new participants, with the larger containers on wheels making it easier to recycle more material.

The increased diversion into recycling programs is in line with Iowa City’s waste reduction goals. City staff are excited by the increases, but continue to emphasize that...

Arbor Day

Celebrate Earth Day all week with Iowa City Parks and Recreation

Thursday, April 11, 2019 - 1:00pm
Contact: 
Zac Hall
Parks and Recreation

How much do you know about the environment and sustainability? Let's find out with this Earth Day Eco Trivia!

Earth Day Eco Trivia will be held on Monday, April 22, 2019 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the East Side Recycling Environmental Education Center, 2401 Scott Blvd SE. Admission is free, and there will be prizes for the winners. This event is family-friendly.

RSVP to the Facebook event page.

Iowa City Parks and Forestry staff has a full slate of celebrations set for the end of April! These...

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and needles collection event set for April 27

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - 9:00am
Contact: 
Ryan Wood
Jennifer Jordan
Communications

Johnson County residents can properly dispose of unwanted or outdated pharmaceuticals and needles from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the East Side Recycling Center, 2401 Scott Blvd. SE.

The event is organized nationally by the US Drug Enforcement Agency; the Iowa City Police Department and the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center partner to offer the local event.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly...

Dozens of organics carts are shown.

25-gallon organics cart pickup event held March 18 at East Side Recycling Center

Wednesday, March 13, 2019 - 9:30pm
Contact: 
Jennifer Jordan
Communications

If you're a City of Iowa City curbside service customer and want a 25-gallon organics cart, Monday, March 18, 2019 is your chance to pick one up.

From 3 to 6 p.m. March 18 at the East Side Recycling Center, 2401 Scott Boulevard SE, curbside customers can pickup a 25-gallon yellow-lid organics cart for all of their yard trimmings and food scraps.

In order to take home a cart, customers simply need to present their City of Iowa City utility bill, or a screenshot of their utility bill if they pay paperless. No reservations or payments are necessary.

If you need a...

Organics curbside collection to resume March 18

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - 12:00pm
Contact: 
Patricia Fossum

Regular organics curbside collection will resume Monday, March 18, 2019 throughout Iowa City.

Organics will again be collected after a six-week service suspension held over winter months, during which materials were collected through on an appointment only basis to conserve fuel.

Iowa City residents that receive curbside services can place yard waste and food waste in the same container at the curb to be picked up and transported to the Iowa City Landfill's compost facility, where it is made into compost.

Set containers out by 7 a.m. on your regular curbside...

Upcycling Convention

Repurpose ordinary materials during the Upcycling Convention

Friday, February 22, 2019 - 11:15am
Parks and Recreation

Challenge your creativity during our Upcycling Convention. This competition is meant to encourage locals to solve a problem by creating an invention made of primarily recycled or upcycled materials.

The Upcycling Convention will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, at the East Side Recycling Environmental Education Center, 2401 Scott Blvd. SE.

Participants must sign up prior to the Convention to compete. Winners will be determined from four different categories:

Adult Student Most Creative Most Recycled Materials Used

Sign up to participate in the...

Crews to collect old recycling bins the week of Feb. 4 - 8

Friday, February 1, 2019 - 8:30am
Contact: 
Jennifer Jordan
Communications

If you are a curbside customer in Iowa City (single-family home up to 4-plex apartment building), you should have received a 65-gallon blue-lidded recycling cart in December. If you did not receive a recycling cart or received a duplicate, please call 319-356-5151. Please note that some households, based on neighborhood logistics and inability to get trucks down some streets, are not eligible for carts.

Collection of Old Recycling Bins Residents are welcome to keep and re-purpose their older blue 18-gallon recycling bins, but the City will also collect and recycle unwanted bins at the...

Waste collection suspended for January 30, 2019 due to extreme cold

Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 9:00am
Contact: 
Jennifer Jordan
Communications

Due to the pending extreme cold weather, curbside collection of trash and recycling will not occur on regular routes on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. This cancelation is being implemented to ensure the safety of our staff.

Crews will complete Wednesday's routes for trash and recycling collection on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. Thursday’s and Friday's trash and recycling routes will be run regularly. Items should be to the curb by 7 a.m. to ensure collection, but note that collection times will vary to ensure staff has time to warm up as needed.

To assist the crews’ efficiency...

Upcycling Series

Upcycling Series

Tuesday, January 29, 2019 - 8:30am
Contact: 
Juli Seydell Johnson
Parks and Recreation

Interested in learning how to reuse and upcycle stuff around the house? Check out our Upcycling Event Series.

The Upcycling Series offers several workshops exploring how to take ordinary household materials and give them a new purpose or use.

Events are on Wednesdays in February from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the East Side Recycling Education Center, 2401 Scott Blvd. SE:

Feb. 6: Upcycled Bird Feeder Bottles Reduce plastic waste by upcycling a plastic bottle into a bird feeder for this winter season...

Pages