Iowa City is a rare municipal collector: City-owned trucks run residential curbside service. Resource Management issues a 65-gallon green-top garbage cart (default) on the utility bill at approximately $14/month for single-family through 4-plex residences. The City's published rules require lids fully closed for collection, carts set out by 7 a.m. on collection day, a 3-foot clear zone around each cart, and arrows on lids facing the street. Additional carts cost about $3.50/month. Private residential refuse collection is prohibited for fronting-street residences under Iowa City Code Title 16, Chapter 3, Article H. Authority: Iowa Code §364.12 (city duty over public ways) and §364.22 (municipal infraction authority).
Iowa City's residential refuse system is run directly by the City rather than by private licensed haulers - a model used by only a handful of Iowa municipalities and made possible because the City also owns the regional landfill at 3900 Hebl Avenue SW. Under Iowa City Code Title 16 (Public Works), Chapter 3 (City Utilities), Article H (Solid Waste) - sections 16-3H-8 (Collection and Disposal of Solid Waste) and 16-3H-9 (Solid Waste Disposal Requirements) - the City collects residential refuse from single-family homes and residential premises with up to four dwelling units, once per week wherever reasonably possible, and private collection of that refuse stream is prohibited. The default container is a City-supplied 65-gallon green-top wheeled cart for automated-arm trucks; the cart fee is included on the monthly water/sewer utility bill (currently around $14/month for the standard garbage service). Additional 65-gallon carts cost approximately $3.50/month per cart. Where streets are too narrow for the automated-arm truck, residents may use up to two 35-gallon manual cans on the route's smaller-truck day. Cart rules published by Resource Management and rooted in the City's Solid Waste Rules and Regulations: lids must be fully closed for the cart to be lifted (the automated arm cannot collect an open-lid cart safely); set carts at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on collection day; maintain a 3-foot clear zone on all sides of each cart so the arm has room to operate; face the directional arrows on the lid toward the street; do not overfill. Overflow bags require a City of Iowa City blue garbage sticker per bag, sold at the City Hall Revenue Office and at participating retailers (both Iowa City Ace Hardware locations, Hy-Vee Iowa City/Coralville, Fareway Westwinds Drive). Each stickered bag must not exceed 35 gallons or 50 pounds and must be placed next to the cart by 7 a.m. State authority: Iowa Code §364.12 (city duty over streets and public places); §364.22 (municipal infraction); Iowa Code Chapter 455B (DNR solid waste regulation); Iowa Code Chapter 455D (waste volume reduction and recycling).
Operating a private residential refuse-collection service for a single-family or up-to-4-unit residence in Iowa City is prohibited under 16-3H-8 because the City is the exclusive residential collector. Carts placed with lids open, overflowing, blocking the 3-foot clear zone, or set out late will be skipped by the truck (the automated arm cannot safely lift them). Carts left at the curb beyond the collection day are cited as a public nuisance under Title 6 (Public Health and Safety), Chapter 1, prosecuted as a municipal infraction under Iowa Code §364.22 and Iowa City Code §1-4-2 with typical civil-penalty schedules of $250-$750 for first nuisance offense and up to $1,000 for repeat. Extra bags without a blue City garbage sticker are not collected.
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