Covered Vehicles
To reduce litter, state law and local ordinances require all loads to be secured, eliminating the risk of any part of the load escaping from the vehicle.
Any vehicle arriving at MWA facilities with unsecured loads, inadequately covered loads or loads not totally enclosed as described below will be charged a waste service fee in addition to the regular tipping fee. Effective immediately, any vehicle weighing 25,000 pounds or more will incur a $100 tarping fee for unsecured loads, and vehicles weighing less than 25,000 pounds will incur a $10 tarping fee.
- Rear-load trucks do not require tarping of the hopper if the hauler has extended the blade to completely cover the waste and if no waste is transported in the hopper.
- Front-load trucks do not require tarping of the receiving hopper if an alternate material (i.e., metal) is used to totally enclose the opening. An attached front-load bin does not require tarping if there is no waste in the bin.
- Roll-off container loads must be secured. Most haulers have automated tarping devices. A tarp must be used for all open-top, roll-off containers. Enclosed roll-off compactor containers require a tarp or other material to be used on the opening.
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Please note that this is a covered vehicle policy to reduce litter. The use of tarps is only one method that the haulers may use to cover a vehicle. The attendant may need to make a determination regarding whether a load is adequately secured to prevent litter.
Safety Rules
To make Metro Park East landfill a safer place for customers and employees, MWA asks that customers and visitors observe the following safety rules when on landfill property:
- Observe posted speed limits.
- No smoking allowed past scale house.
- Customers must stay within three feet of their vehicle.
- No standing or walking under raised hopper.
- No riding on hoppers.
- No children outside of vehicle.
- No pets outside of vehicle.
- All gates and doors will be closed and secured before leaving unloading area.
- Removable gates must be placed next to front of vehicle while unloading.
- No scavenging.
- All refuse must be removed from unenclosed areas before leaving unloading area.
- Follow traffic director's instructions.
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Rates and payment information for the Metro Park East facility:
| Category |
Effective July 1, 2005 |
Cars, Station Wagons, Passenger Vans & SUV's
Loads weighing less than 200 pounds.
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$6 per load |
Pickup Trucks, Trailers & Commercial Vans
Vehicles weighing over 6,000 pounds will be charged according to the net weight of the waste.
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$32 per ton, $16 minimum |
Residential/Commercial Hauler Waste
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$32 per ton, $16 minimum |
Construction/Demolition Waste
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$32.70 per ton, $16 minimum |
Yard Waste
Vehicles weighing over 6,000 pounds will be charged according to the net weight of the waste. Yard waste in Compost It! bags or with Compost It! stickers are not charged.
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$25 per ton, $16 minimum |
Small Tires
Rim diameter 16.5" and under
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$2 each |
Large Tires
Rim diameter over 16.5" but less than or equal to 24.5"
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$5 each |
Farm Tires
Rim diameter over 24.5" (very large or earth moving tires will be charged at the per ton rate)
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$20 each |
Commercial Tires
| $110 per ton |
Appliances
Including refrigerators, freezers, kitchen ranges, air conditioning units, dehumidifiers, water heaters, furnaces, thermostats, washers/dryers, dishwashers, microwave ovens and commercial coolers. Please call for other appliance information.
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$10 each |
Special Waste
For more information, call (515) 323-6525.
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Call for prices |
CRTs in Commercial Loads
Including color televisions and computer monitors. |
$25 each (19" or less)
$75 each (19" or more)
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MWA's covered vehicle policy requires all loads to be secured and/or tarped, eliminating the risk of any part of the load escaping from the vehicle and littering metro roadways.
Any vehicle arriving at the landfill with a load that is unsecured, uncovered, or not totally enclosed will be charged an additional fee ($100 for vehicles weighing over 25,000 pounds and $10 for all other vehicles).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that color Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) (ex. color televisions and computer monitors) are hazardous materials. By law, businesses cannot dispose of hazardous waste in landfills. As a result, MWA will no longer permit color CRTS from commercial loads to be deposited in the landfill. Effective May 1, 2005, MWA will charge customers with commercial loads a recycling fee for each color CRT received at the landfill. The rates are:
• $25 per unit for a computer monitor or a television of 19 inches or less
• $75 for a television more than 19 inches. This includes console televisions.
Customers will continue to be charged a handling fee of $35 per incident if MWA staff move CRTs from the daily cell to a recycling staging area. If CRTs from commercial loads are discovered at the daily cell, customers can opt to move the items themselves and avoid the $35 per incident handling fee, but they will still be responsible for paying the per-unit recycling fee(s).
Payment: Payment is required at the time of service. MWA accepts cash, personal checks, business checks and VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards.
Note: Passenger vans and SUV's with loads weighing up to 200 pounds will be charged the car rate of $6. Loads weighing more than 200 pounds will be charged the pickup truck minimum of $16.
Opened in 1972, the landfill sits on nearly 1,800 acres of land, with about 500 acres being used for landfill space, MPE Landfill receives approximately 18% of the state's waste annually.
Unlike city dumps, MPE Landfill is a highly sophisticated, tightly regulated operation. Materials accepted at the landfill, as well as how they are handled, are closely controlled. State law bans the following items from all Iowa landfills: yard waste, car batteries, waste oils, scrap tires and free liquids.
After waste is deposited, it is compacted and covered daily with six inches of soil. The soil cover helps control odor, litter and public health problems. Many steps are taken to ensure that MPE Landfill is a responsible neighbor. A combination of a liner and collecting pipes are used to catch leachate, which results from precipitation that has seeped into and through the waste. Wells are used to monitor groundwater quality. Gases produced by natural biological processes within the landfill are collected to control their release into the atmosphere and are sent to the Metro Methane Recovery Facility and converted into electricity.
The Metro Park East Landfill has adequate space to meet the service area's projected waste disposal needs well into the 21st century. The life of the landfill can be extended if residents and businesses work together to meet waste reduction mandates.
Facility Photos: Click on an image below for a larger view.
Take a Closer Look
An in-depth look at the Constructed Wetlands treatment facility and how it benefits the environment.
Constructed Wetlands
MWA's Constructed Wetlands treatment facility is the first of its kind in Iowa, and one of the first in the nation. It is designed to treat leachate collected at the landfill. Leachate, a high-strength wastewater, is created when rainwater seeps through the waste in the landfill and picks up suspended solids such as nitrogen, iron, and ammonia.
A leachate collection piping system pumps the leachate from under the landfill to a series of wetlands cells. The plants in the wetlands system naturally remove the suspended solids in the wastewater. After treatment, the remaining effluent is then applied to a prairie, where it is released as vapor back to the environment.
MWA worked with Foth & Van Dyke, a regional engineering consulting firm, and JF New & Associates of Indiana, to design and build its Constructed Wetlands Leachate Treatment Facility.