Adair County, IA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Adair County Ordinance No. 36, the Solid Waste Control Ordinance adopted in September 2015, governs how trash leaves the unincorporated area of the county. Its stated purpose is the sanitary storage, collection and disposal of solid waste, and it names the Adair County Sanitary Landfill as the place where the county's waste is taken. The ordinance defines a licensed collection hauler as any person or firm licensed or contracted by the County to gather solid waste from public and private property and dispose of it in Adair County. Solid waste means garbage, refuse, rubbish and similar discarded materials from industrial, commercial, agricultural and domestic activities, and the definition excludes hazardous substances, yard waste and recyclables.

Section .03 sends all of the County's solid waste to the Board's Landfill and bars hauling to any site the Board does not operate. The only way around that rule is a written waiver from the County plus written permission from the Board. Section .04 requires an annual license from the Board before anyone collects, transports or disposes of solid waste other than waste the individual owns. Section .05 lets the Board revoke a license, on reasonable notice and hearing, when waste under a hauler's control is not delivered to an approved site. The duties also reach a "Resident," a term that covers the record title holder and any person renting, leasing, occupying, operating or transacting business in the premises, with joint and several liability.

Ordinance No. 32, passed September 29, 2010, adds that solid waste generated within the unincorporated area of Adair County shall be disposed of at the Adair County Sanitary Landfill unless the hauler obtains a written waiver from the Adair County Board of Supervisors. Its recitals give the reason: tipping fees paid at the landfill fund its operation, and some commercial haulers were shipping county waste to landfills outside Adair County. As posted, neither ordinance sets collection days, rates or container rules.