Dubuque, IA Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)

Dubuque does not leave organic waste as an opt-in program: Section 13-6A-5(A) of the refuse collection article states flatly that all organic waste shall be separated from all other solid waste and shall be composted on the premises or placed in organic collection containers for collection, which covers the food scraps listed in Section 13-6A-5(D), fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, bread and grain products, dairy, meat, poultry and fish, along with yard debris like leaves, grass and brush. A resident does not have to use the City's cart-based service to satisfy the separation duty; composting on the property is an explicit alternative, but Section 13-6A-5(B) ties that option back to the City's nuisance rules by requiring any on-site compost pile to be maintained in accordance with Title 6, Chapter 4 of the City Code, the health and sanitation title that governs nuisance conditions.

For households that use the collection option, Section 13-6A-5(C) puts the City Manager in charge of the pickup schedule, the same office that sets the schedule for regular refuse and recycling under Sections 13-6A-7 and 13-6A-4. Because the separation duty in subsection A applies to 'all organic waste' without carving out an exception for small households or renters, mixing food scraps or yard debris into the regular refuse cart is itself inconsistent with the ordinance, independent of whatever container rules apply to the organic material once it is properly separated.