Iowa City’s yellow organics cart accepts food scraps, yard materials and some paper products, including pizza boxes. Bags, extra yard waste and collection-day placement each have their own rules.
What goes in the yellow cart
The city’s organics program accepts food scraps including coffee grounds and filters, eggshells, bread and grains, meat and bones, seafood shells, non-liquid dairy, fruits, and vegetables. It also accepts yard materials such as leaves, grass, and garden residue.
Some accepted items are easy to overlook:
- paper towels and napkins;
- shredded paper;
- pizza boxes;
- pumpkins after candles and lights are removed.
What stays out
The program does have limits. Regular plastic, foam, pet waste, diapers, wipes, liquids, produce stickers, foil or plastic-coated paper dishware, treated wood, dirt, rocks, glass, and metal stay out.
Bags, fees and collection day
Certified compostable liner bags are allowed when they meet ASTM D6400 standards. Ordinary plastic bags are not. Food must go inside the cart rather than in free-standing yard-waste bags.
For eligible city curbside households, the first 25- or 95-gallon yellow-top organics cart is included in the $3.50 monthly organics fee. Additional carts cost $3.50 per month. Extra paper yard-waste bags or bundles require $2 stickers.
Collection-day details matter: carts should be at the curb by 7 a.m., lids should be closed, and residents should leave three feet of clearance around carts. The city’s curbside program covers single-family homes through four-unit residences; larger multifamily properties follow separate arrangements.
