Grant helps Iowa City, Iowa, improve curbside recycling

A $106,000 grant from The Recycling Partnership, Falls Church, Virginia, will help Iowa City, Iowa, with the purchase of new 65-gallon carts for 16,000 households that participate in the city's curbside recycling program, in addition to a public education campaign. The grant is supported in part by the All In On Recycling challenge in conjunction with the PepsiCo Foundation.

The new carts feature a blue lid and will replace customers’ old 18-gallon bins by the end of this month, according to a city press release.

In response to a growing demand from the community, Iowa City started offering new organic composting carts for food and yard waste. The city distributed the yellow lidded 25- and 95-gallon carts to customers who requested them earlier this year.

Last December, Iowa City transitioned from dual-stream to single-stream recycling. To help with contamination levels, drivers leave notes as to why contaminated bins aren't picked up to help teach the public about recycling.

As part of the public education campaign, curbside customers will be given pamphlets with information on how to recycle right and answers to frequently asked questions about the city’s recycling program.

The old 18-gallon bins will either be donated to area schools and farms or recycled.