Trash & Recycling

Garbage

Ankeny offers subscription garbage collection, each resident contracts individually with a private garbage hauler. The following companies provide residential services in Ankeny:

Residential Garbage Haulers

Residents should contact these companies for information on:

  • Start and stop service
  • Garbage collection rates
  • Pickup days and times
  • Yard waste collection and fees
  • Large items (furniture, appliances, etc.) and extra trash pickup procedures and fees
  • Special pickup for elderly or disabled residents
  • Missed collection
  • Request an extra cart, cart repair

Yard Waste

Yard waste consists of grass, clippings, leaves, weeds, branches, soft plant material, root balls, brush and stumps and must be collected separately from other solid waste. The State of Iowa has banned yard waste from being dumped in landfills.

The City offers several collection and recycling events throughout the year where residents may dispose of limited types of yard waste free of charge:

If you missed the City events:

  • Contact your independent trash hauler for curbside yard waste collection processes and fees.
  • Yard waste can be taken to Metro Park East to be made into compost.

Recycling

Metro Waste Authority's Curb It! program provides each residential household in MWA's service area a 96-gallon cart with automated collection with every other week pickup. For those who generate less trash, 48-gallon carts are available. Requests for the smaller carts can be made by calling 24-GREEN. An exchange fee may apply. Check the lid on your cart for the pickup schedule in your area, and be sure to set your cart out by 7 a.m.

For more information about the Curb It! program, please call Metro Waste Authority at 515-244-0021.

Accepted Items

  • Plastic containers - containers with twist-off lids and yogurt/margarine tubs (no lids)
  • Newspapers - including inserts, remove it from the plastic bag it is delivered in
  • Mixed paper
  • Cardboard - must be broken down and cut to fit into cart
  • Shredded paper - can be recycled in your new cart but it needs to be contained in a paper product such as a cereal or cardboard box, or a paper sack
  • Tin and aluminum cans
  • Paper food cartons: milk (including soy) chocolate and cream, juice, protein drinks, wine, egg substitutes, soup and broth

Items Not Accepted

  • Garbage or yard debris
  • Food-contaminated material (e.g., frozen dinner containers)
  • Plastic bags or containers with motor oil or other hazardous materials
  • Metal objects
  • Electronics
  • Plastic food containers and other plastics without twist-off lids

More information on what is and is not accepted

Cart Placement Guidelines

Curb It! is an automated collection program designed to make it easier for you to recycle. When participating in automated collection programs there are a few cart placement guidelines to follow. Your help is appreciated in making it easier for carts to be collected.

  • Your cart should be within 18 inches of the curb with the short metal bar facing the street.
  • To avoid damage to public and private property, place the cart at least three feet away from mailboxes, lamp posts, and other permanent structures.
  • Place your cart on as level of a surface as possible but away from low-hanging tree branches.
  • Yard waste bags, garbage carts, Curb It! carts and other large items should be spaced three feet apart.
  • Close lids prior to pick-up - lids must be closed on your Curb It! carts in order for the recyclables to be collected.

Large Scale Recycling Centers & Recycling Drop-Offs

There are several Metro Waste Authority Recycling Drop-Off locations that provide disposal and recycling options to Central Iowa residents and businesses.

Cardboard Recycling Drop-off

Overrun with cardboard that won't fit in your Curb It! cart? Visit the free cardboard recycling drop-off located at the City Maintenance Facility, 211 SE Lorenz Drive in Ankeny.

The City of Ankeny is partnering with Metro Waste Authority to bring this convenient resource closer to home. Simply remove the packing material and flatten the box, then slide the cardboard in the container. The container can be accessed 24/7 and it is conveniently located next to our free mulch and compost site at the Maintenance Facility.

If the container is full, please do not pile cardboard on the ground nearby. Leaving cardboard outside of the container is considered littering and could result in a fine. Clean, dry cardboard (kept dry inside the container) has the best possible recycling future. These containers are emptied four times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings. If the container is full when you arrive, please hold your material for another day or check out another metro location.

This cardboard recycling drop-off only accepts corrugated cardboard, the type with waved ridges in the middle. The flat thin stuff, with your favorite soda or cereal inside, is actually paper - not cardboard, so put those in your green Curb It! cart.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste disposal is managed by Metro Waste Authority and may include anything labeled toxic, corrosive, reactive or flammable.

Shredding

You can drop off your confidential documents at Metro Hazardous Waste Drop-Off sites for shredding.

City Recycling Events

The City of Ankeny and the Public Works department host a variety of recycling and clean-up events throughout the year. View Recycling Events.

  • Ankeny Cleanup Days (May)
  • Tree and Branch Recycling (May, June, October)
  • Leaf Collection Days (October / November)
  • Curb-side Christmas tree Pick-up (January)