Before sorting a recycling bin at an Iowa City rental, find out who collects it. City curbside rules cover single-family homes through four-unit buildings; larger apartment buildings follow their building or hauler’s instructions.
The city’s curbside program uses blue-top carts. These are the sorting rules for households that receive that service.
For city curbside households, accepted materials go loose into the blue-top cart. The city’s 2026 guide includes paper, softcover books, waxy cartons, clean pizza boxes, cans, aluminum foil compressed into a ball at least two inches wide, and empty plastic bottles, jugs, jars, and round tubs. Plastic caps can stay on.
The items that cause the most uncertainty are often the everyday ones:
- Dirty pizza boxes do not belong in recycling. Clean pizza boxes do.
- Glass bottles and jars are not accepted in curbside carts; the city provides separate glass drop-off locations.
- Plastic bags and wrap stay out.
- Foam and clamshell containers stay out.
- Shredded paper, batteries, electronics, and appliances do not belong in the recycling cart.
Cardboard also has a size limit. Curbside cardboard should be flattened and no larger than 2 feet by 2 feet.