What is Metro Waste Authority?
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.
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What does MWA do?
Metro Waste Authority helps Central Iowans recycle and dispose of their waste through convenient and environmentally friendly programs and services. We operate Metro Park East and Metro Park West landfills, the Regional Collection Center, the Metro Compost Center, and the Metro Transfer Station. Our recycling programs, Curb It! and Compost It!, give residents the opportunity to recycle right at their curb. Our website is a great resource for anyone wanting to know how to properly dispose of just about anything, even reusable or hazardous items. Simply call us at 244-0021 or go to www.mwatoday.com. We can help. We are your waste authority.
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How long has MWA been in business?
For 40 years, MWA's Board of Directors and staff have been committed to operating a waste management system serving approximately 400,000 residents.
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Why haven't you picked up my garbage?
MWA manages the landfill for Central Iowa and provides recycling programs for businesses and residents, but we do not collect trash.
Des Moines residents need to call Des Moines Public Works at 283-4950. Suburban residents need to call their garbage hauler.
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Why haven't you picked up my recycling?
MWA manages the landfill for central Iowa and provides recycling programs for businesses and residents. We have contracted with Waste Management to collect recycling in the suburbs while Des Moines Public Works collects it in Des Moines.
If your recycling is missed, Des Moines residents need to call Des Moines Public Works at 515-283-4950. Suburban residents should contact Waste Management at 515-24-GREEN (47336).
If you are part of the Curb It! for Business program, you are responsible for placing your carts on the curb on the regular residential collection day. Please follow these cart placement guidelines to ensure your recycling gets picked up.
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I do not have a recycling cart. How can I get one?
Des Moines residents should call the Public Works Department’s 24-hour Customer Service Center at 283-4950 to request one. All other communities in the metro area, call 24-GREEN to request a cart.
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What can be recycled in the recycling cart?
Necked plastic bottles, margarine and yogurt containers, cardboard, mixed paper, newspaper, aluminum cans, wire hangers, aerosol cans and all colors of glass jars and bottles. For a more complete list of accepted and unaccepted items, click here.
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Do I need to sort my recyclables in the cart?
No, you do not have to sort your recyclables in the cart. Recyclables will be sorted; but instead of you doing it, it will be done by state-of-the-art sorting facility. Recyclables picked up curbside will be delivered to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operated by Greenstar. There, mechanical and manual methods will be used to separate the materials and to remove anything that is not recyclable. Some types of technology used are magnets, “Eddy” current separators, air classifiers, trammels and screens.
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Why is the collection of recyclables every other week instead of weekly?
Fewer trips of collection trucks down city roads have cost-saving and environmental benefits.
- Reduces wear and tear on roads; your community will save money on road repair.
- Uses less fuel. Your community will be doing its part to reduce greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. Fuel costs will also be reduced, which is one reason this program can be provided as economically as the current curbside collection program.
- And, recyclables can be safely stored for several weeks. They do not break down, so they do not cause odor problems or present human health hazards like garbage.
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What landfills are located in Central Iowa?
The attached pdf includes names, phone numbers and maps to landfill and transfer stations available in Central Iowa for your waste disposal. You may also contact us at 244-0021 with questions.
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Where do I take plastic bags to be recycled?
Plastic bags can be taken back to your local grocery stores and recycled through programs like Build with Bags. They are not accepted in the Curb It! recycling program because they get tangled up and damage the sorting equipment at the recycling center.
TIP: Do you find recycling plastic bags to be inconvenient? Then ask for paper bags that can be recycled in your Curb It! cart. Or better yet, use your own bag.
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Why can't I recycle all plastics with the chasing arrows symbol?
The recycling symbol (the chasing arrows) is misleading to consumers. The symbol with a number is placed on plastics from the manufacturing company in order to mark what types of chemical compounds were used in creating the product. This is called a resin code. Consumers have been taught to watch for the recycling symbol, so when they see it marked on plastic items, it is often assumed that those items can always be recycled – this is not the case.
The types of plastics that can be recycled vary throughout the United States due to differences in regional recycling markets. For recycling to work, groups and organizations like Metro Waste Authority (MWA) must collect what the recycling processors will accept. What can be recycled depends on what recyclables the recycling processors and their purchasers’ demand. If there is no market for certain recycled plastics, processors will not find it cost-effective to accept them from organizations like MWA; thus, some plastics may not be collected from our service area at the request of our processor. Another reason why not all plastics can be recycled is that scientific developments have not yet allowed for certain plastics to be successfully processed into a durable material that is desired in the market.
For these reasons, MWA currently accepts plastic, necked bottles, one of the most common uses of plastics, in the Curb It! program.
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If I can recycle a #1 or #2 bottle, why can’t I recycle everything with a #1 or #2?
It is not simply the number that determines whether the plastic is recyclable but also the manufacturing process. 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, 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 the manufacturing process and market demand.
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Can I recycle frozen food boxes and ice cream cartons?
Boxes containing frozen foods, such as frozen TV dinner boxes and boxes from a frozen pizza, are recycleable. Just make sure all the contents are removed.
Ice cream cartons cannot be recycled. They 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.
A question you can ask yourself to figure out whether a frozen food containers is recycalable is: Did the food directly touch the paper? If the answer is no, then it can be recycled. If the answer is yes, then it cannot be recycled.
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How do I start a recycling program at my office/business?
There are many different businesses and offices; ranging from what type of business that is taking place to the size of the office itself. So starting a recycling program is not a cookie-cutter situation for everyone. Please click here for information on how to start a recycling program for your business.
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Construction and Demoltion Recycling
Metro Waste Authority supports source separation when it comes to construction and demolition recycling. Please separate valuable recyclable materials and from the rest of the materials so a processor can recycle them. Here is a complete guide on Construction and Demolition Best Practices that the IDNR and the Iowa Waste Exchange has put together.
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Where do I go to get MWA's compost and how much is it?
For purchases of a single load of eight or more cubic yards of compost, you may call MWA at 244-0021 between the hours of 8 a.m. - 4:30 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:
Beeler Trucking: (515) 468-0815
Dennis Lind Landscaping (515) 681-9303
Dutch Meadows: (641) 628-4450
Gold Valley Hardscapes (515) 328-3162
Green Acres Garden Center: (515) 961-5889
Hallett Materials: (515) 987-8544
Iowa Landscaping Supply: (515) 262-2367
Iowa Outdoor Products (515) 277-6242
Morgan Oaks: (515) 967-6766
Mulch Mart: (515) 978-6852
Wright Outdoor Solutions (515) 987-0800
For more information on availability, pricing, hours, location, and delivery, please call the retail outlets directly.
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How do I recycle electronics waste?
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.
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How do I dispose of paint?
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.
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How do I dispose of Styrofoam, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, etc?
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.
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