Iowa City, IA Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)
Key Facts
- Pickup basis
- By request and City approval only
- Bulky item fee
- $20 per stop plus 1 item, $10 each additional
- Appliance fee
- $20.00 per item collected
- Tire fee
- $3.75 per tire, $7.50 with rim
- Curb timing
- Out after 3pm day before, by 7am collection day
- Enforcing office
- Landfill and Recycling Center Director
Summary
Iowa City will only haul away bulky solid waste, like couches, appliances and tires, if you call ahead and get approval first. Curbside dumping without a request is not covered, and the City can refuse anything too heavy or bulky for its crews to handle safely.
Bulky solid waste may only be collected by the City upon prior request made to the City, and approval of said request. The City reserves the right to refuse to collect bulky solid waste that exceeds reasonable limitations of weight and bulk, as determined by the Director.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-26: Code current through: Ord. 26-4985, passed May 19, 2026).
Full Breakdown
City Code 16-3H-8(A)(4) makes bulky item pickup a request-only service: "Bulky solid waste may only be collected by the City upon prior request made to the City, and approval of said request. " The code defines bulky solid waste in 16-3H-2 as nonputrescible waste too large or heavy for a standard 35-gallon container, expressly including televisions, computer monitors, tires and appliances. 50 for a tire mounted on a rim. Certain materials never go out with bulky trash at all: 16-3H-6(F) bars tires, yard waste, corrugated cardboard, computer monitors, televisions, appliances, lead acid batteries, and oil and oil filters from being placed in trash bound for the landfill, funneling them instead into these separate collection or recycling channels.
on collection day itself, per 16-3H-8(A)(6)(a). The Director of the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center administers the program and can decline any load that exceeds reasonable weight or bulk limits under 16-3H-8(A)(4)(a).
Violations & Fines
Setting bulky items at the curb without prior City approval is not an authorized collection and can leave the load uncollected and subject to nuisance abatement under 16-3H-4, which lets the City treat unlawful storage, collection or disposal of solid waste as an environmental infraction, prosecutable as a municipal infraction under 1-4-2A, in addition to withholding solid waste service or disposing of a nonconforming container. Placing banned items such as tires, appliances or televisions in regular trash violates 16-3H-6(F) and can trigger the same enforcement remedies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I just leave an old couch at the curb in Iowa City?
What does it cost to have Iowa City pick up a large item?
Can I put an old television in my regular trash cart?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Iowa City
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