Buena Vista County Recycling

In 1989, the state of Iowa passed the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act, making it a requirement for every city and county in Iowa to establish a recycling program in order to reduce the amount of waste being landfilled. Because of this, the Buena Vista County/Harold Rowley Recycle Center was opened in 1990 to process recyclables for the residents and businesses of Buena Vista County.

History

The Buena Vista County Solid Waste Commission was formed in 1972 to comply with a new state law addressing Solid Waste disposal. The law required the establishment of a sanitary disposal project for each city, town, and county by July 1975. Buena Vista County Solid Waste would operate the landfill to comply with that law and all open dumps operating in the county were closed. The commission operates under the provisions of the Chapter 28E, Code of Iowa.

Duties of the commission are to provide economical disposal and/or collection and disposal of all solid waste generated within Buena Vista County. It also is to cooperate with local, state, and federal public health agencies to protect the land, water and air.

In 1989 The Waste Reduction and Recycling Act required every city and county in Iowa to establish a recycling program in order to reduce the amount of waste being landfilled. The goal was to reduce waste by 25% by 1994 and 50% by 2000. The 25% goal turned into a mandate with higher fees being the penalty if not met. Base numbers were set according to the figures from 1988. In 1990 the commission opened the Harold Rowley Recycle Center or Buena Vista County Recycle Center to process recyclables for the residents and businesses of Buena Vista County.

In 2007 new rules were placed on all landfill’s operating in Iowa which would result in the closure of Buena Vista County’s Landfill. At that time the commission had exhausted all attempts to find a suitable site for a new landfill and the current landfill site had reached capacity. On October 1, 2007 the Buena Vista County Landfill was closed. The commission will monitor that site according to Iowa law for the next 30 years.

Currently all waste in Buena Vista County is still managed by the commission pursuant to the Code of Iowa. All waste is delivered to the Recycle Center/Transfer Station location and transferred to the Carroll County Landfill and disposed of according to county, state and federal guidelines.

Hazardous Waste

Proper management of household hazardous materials is important to the safety of your home and the environment.  What is Household Hazardous Waste?  Many products used in homes contain hazardous materials.  Improper disposal may result in injury to people, pets, cause a fire, or contaminate ground water.  Products that are considered hazardous are:

• Household Cleaners: Floor and furniture polishes, oven cleaner, kitchen and bath cleaners, drain opener, disinfectants, and rug and upholstery cleaners.

• Home Improvement: Oil based paint, lead based paint, stain, paint thinner, paint stripper, varnish, caulk, and adhesives.

• Pesticides: Insecticides, insect repellent, weed killer, mouse poison, pet spray, mothballs, and many gardening products.

• Automotive: Gasoline, windshield wiper fluid, car wax and cleaners, solvents, brake fluid, and body putty.

• Others: Pool chemicals, color photo processing chemicals, artists paints (cadmium yellow and cobalt blue).

• Characteristics are determined by container label. Signal words printed on the label such as Caution, Danger, Warning or Keep Out of Reach of Children indicate that the material is probably a hazardous household product. Each year Iowans generate an estimated 30 pounds of hazardous waste per household.

• Latex paint (water based) is not hazardous and can be safely disposed of in a landfill once it is dry. If you have unused latex paint you can dry it out using one of the following methods: line a cardboard box with newspaper and layer the paint allowing the layers to dry, mix in oil dry(kitty litter) or wood chips to absorb the liquid, or simply remove lids and let it dry. Once the paint is dry you can set it out with your trash with the lids off so the hauler can see it is dry.

Composting

Composting is nature’s way of recycling! Otherwise defined as the biological process of breaking up of organic waste such as grass trimmings, leaves, twigs, and food waste from fruits and vegetables, into a humus-like substance suitable for use as a soil enriching additive to gardens, yards, planters, etc. Our compost area is open to the public and finished compost is available to residents free of charge.

Composting can also be done in your own backyard. Compost bins can be built out of wooden pallets, old trashcans, wire fencing, and plastic drums or purchased through retailers. Simple piles can also be built in your yard as well on ground that drains well. When using a pile method you must be certain to have an adequate sized pile (approximately 3 cubic feet by 5 cubic feet) and be able to mix and aerate (turn) your piles periodically for proper composting to occur.

Asphalt Shingle Recycling

Recyclable loads can only contain shingles, tar paper (felt), and nails. No other debris and no wood shingles. You may bring other debris with the shingles but will be required to dump those items in a separate area.Shingles from commercial or dwellings with over four units will need to follow a few special requirements so please contact us before bringing these shingles for participation in the program. The requirements are easy and we can take care of the simple steps with a little help from you. Please take the extra step to have these shingles recycled.

Supplier Form will need to be completed when delivering shingles for recycling.Ask your contractor to recycle your shingles.Those participating in the program will receive reduced fees and will be included in our “Green” Roofing Contractors list.