Metro Waste Authority (MWA) is an independent government agency comprised of 16 member communities, one county and six planning members. Established in 1969, MWA was designated to manage the landfill for the Polk County area after state law required all Iowa communities to properly dispose of their solid waste in a sanitary landfill.

MWA operates many facilities and programs recognized for excellence at the state and national levels. These facilities include the Metro Park East Landfill, the Metro Compost Center, the Metro Transfer Station, the Regional Collection Center and the Metro Recycling Center.

MWA also operates various waste reduction and recycling programs including the Curb It! recycling program. MWA's Curb It! program is the most comprehensive curbside recycling program in the state, providing services to almost 120,000 households. Other programs managed by MWA include the Residential Scrap Tire Program, the Sharps Program and a Special Waste Assistance Program for commercial/industrial businesses.

For over 30 years, MWA's Board of Directors and staff have been committed to operating a waste management system serving approximately 400,000 residents.

MWA manages the landfill for Central Iowa and provides recycling programs for businesses and residents, but we do not collect trash or recycling.

Des Moines residents need to call Des Moines Public Works at 283-4950.  Suburban residents need to call their garbage hauler.

MWA manages the landfill for Central Iowa and provides recycling programs for businesses and residents, but we do not collect trash or recycling.

Des Moines residents need to call Des Moines Public Works at 283-4950.  Suburban residents need to call Artistic Waste Services at 262-4040.

Residents may call Syntex Industries in Humboldt, Iowa at 515-332-3265 or email them at info@syntexindustries.com to order a Curb It! bin cover.  Each cover is $10.50, which includes shipping and handling.   Syntex Industries website is www.syntexindustries.com.

Clive and West Des Moines residents should contact their city hall to request a Curb It! bin cover.

The collection truck doesn't have enough room for everyone's cardboard if more than 4 pieces per home is accepted.

There are five self-haul locations in the metro area, open to businesses and residents; all self-haul sites accept cardboard.

Yes.  We ask that you break down any large pieces of cardboard to the size of your Curb It! bin.  Becuase space is limited on the recycling trucks, we ask that you only place up to 4 pieces of cardboard under your Curb It! bin each week.  If you have a lot of cardboard you can take it to one of our self-haul recycling locations.

Plastic bags can be taken to Wal-Mart stores, some Hy-Vee stores or to Weyerhaeuser Recycling at 2800 Dixon in Des Moines.

They are not currently accepted in Curb It! because of the littering problem they cause and because it's not cost-effective to collect them right now.

When it becomes cost-effective to recycle other materials such as plastic bags, MWA will add them to the Curb It! program.

No.  The three arrows symbol is not an indication that an item can be recycled.  The recycling symbol is unregulated, meaning that no authority controls who places the symbol on what product, be it recyclable or not.

The plastics industry uses the numbers as a coding system to identify resin types.  It is not meant to indicate recyclability.  Of course, good recyclers are trained to look for the recycling symbol and the number, so it leads to confusion.  Unfortunately you cannot use the symbol to determine whether or not a material is recyclable.  Instead, follow Curb It! guidelines, not the labeling on the product.  Technically, almost everything manufactured could be recyclable if there were a reliable end-buyer for the material.  Therefore, for a material to be recyclable there has to be a demand for it on the market and a sufficient value to the resin to cover the cost of transportation to the market.

The number on the bottom identifies only the type of plastic resin.  It tells you nothing about how the product was made.  Different manufacturing processes are used to make plastic bottles, tubs, soccer balls, and flower pots, etc. and these manufacturing processes give the plastics different properties such as melting points.  At the same temperature, different types of #1 or #2 plastics may have a different consistency (think of soup versus pudding).  Also, If all types of #1 or #2 plastics are mixed for recycling, when re-manufactured some types may melt while others burn.  It is not simply the number that determines whether the plastic is recyclable, but rather Curb It! guidelines.

No. Frozen food containers (such as frozen TV dinner boxes, etc.) are sprayed with a plastic coating that protects the contents against freezer burn.  Paperboard is recycled by mixing it with water in a giant blender to create a pulp.  But fiber sprayed with a plastic polymer won’t pulp up, and instead it becomes a contaminant that needs to be fished out and thrown away.

For purchases of a single load of eight or more cubic yards of compost, you may call MWA's Metro Compost Center between the hours of 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Monday - Friday.  The cost is $12 per cubic yard with a minimum $96 purchase.

For purchases under eight cubic yards, contact one of MWA's contracted retail outlets.

Businesses are not allowed by law to dispose of color cathode ray tubes (monitors) in landfills.  Residents are not required to recycle e-waste, but MWA strongly encourages them to recycle through the e-waste program at its Regional Collection Center for Household Hazardous Waste in Bondurant.  Since residents are not regulated they have the option to dispose of e-waste with their regular trash.

Dried latex paint can be disposed of in trash containers (remove lids from empty paint cans).  Latex paint is non-hazardous and can be dried by mixing with kitty litter, saw dust, or shredded newspaper.

Full or partial cans of latex paint can be taken to the Regional Collection Center for Household Hazardous Waste (RCC) in Bondurant, and disposed of for a charge of $5 per five gallon container or $1 each for smaller containers.

Stains and oil based paints are hazardous and can be disposed of at the RCC at no charge.

These items are not currently accepted in Curb It! because of the littering problem and because it's not cost-effective to collect them right now.

Contact packaging stores in the area - many of them will take some or all of these items for reuse.  All of these items can be disposed of with regular trash.