Iowa City program will bring recycling to apartments, condos

Iowa City has received state funding for a recycling pilot program for apartments and condominiums.

The Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center will use the $18,245 forgivable loan from the Department of Natural Resources' Solid Waste Alternative Program to serve up to 12 buildings during the six-month project, said Jennifer Jordan, the city's recycling coordinator.

The city will not have to pay back the money if it meets all of the requirements in its contract with the DNR, she said. The city will put another $43,415 toward the project, she said.

The city serves single-family homes through four-plex apartments with curbside trash, recycling and yard waste pick up. Other property owners are responsible for their own trash collection, but recycling is not required and many do not provide it because of the cost and an inability to find suitable places for containers, Jordan said.

There are a lot of apartment complexes in Iowa City, which is home to the University of Iowa, and nearly 49 percent of Iowa City's households live in multifamily units without city-provided recycling, Jordan said. She guessed that less than 5 percent of those have private recycling services.

The goals of the pilot program are to enable more apartments and condominium associations to affordably provide recycling services, reduce waste costs for the properties, divert more recyclable material from the landfill and determine what the best management practices are for multi-family and condominium recycling.

The city will cover most of the recycling hauling costs and will provide bins and educational materials for the pilot project. Property owners are responsible for up to $500 for hauling and providing data like weekly weight/volume.

At the end of the six months, participants can choose to continue to offer recycling, but it will be at their own expense. Jordan said the hope is property owners will see enough of a decrease in garbage costs that they can afford to implement recycling programs.

Interested apartment owners, landlords, condo owners or condo association members should contact Jordan at (319) 887-6160 or

jennifer-jordan@iowa-city.org or attend an informational meeting  at 3 p.m. Jan. 4 at City Hall, 410 E. Washington St. Applications are due 4 p.m. Jan. 6.