Yard Waste
When is yard waste collected?
- From late March until late November, weather permitting
- On regular garbage collection days
- See the map of collection days
Who can have curbside yard waste collection?
Like trash and recycling service, the City of Coralville provides yard waste collection services for single family and duplex housing only.
How to Prepare Yard Waste
- Place yard waste in a biodegradable Coralville yard waste bag, or in a 33-gallon container that has an annual yard waste sticker.
- Put yard waste bags/containers, and prepared brush and tree limbs (see below), at the curb by 7:00 am on your garbage day.
Type of bag: If you use a yard waste bag, only Coralville biodegradable yard waste bags will be picked up. Other yard waste bags will not be picked up.
Weight: Full yard waste bags and containers cannot weigh over 40 pounds.
What if I miss the last yard waste pickup of the season?
Self Haul: Coralville residents may take organics (food and yard waste) to the compost facility at the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center (3900 Hebl Avenue SW, Iowa City). It is open year round, six days a week, except for holidays and windy days. Yard waste must be separated from trash loads.
Take your yard waste to the compost facility
Feed your lawn: Mow over leaves to feed your lawn for free. The mulched leaves will decompose and help build richer soil.
Compost: If you compost at home, leaves, grass, and garden trimmings are all compostable.
Contact Us
-
Aaron TeBockhorst
Solid Waste & Recycling Coordinator
EmailPh: 319.248.1740
Hours
Monday - Friday
7:00 am - 3:30 pm
Coralville Biodegradable Yard Waste Bags
Buy in Person
Buy bags in packages of five for $5, or individually for $1 each, at:
- Coralville City Hall, 1512 7th St.
- Coralville Hy-Vee, 1914 8th St.
- Coralville Hy-Vee, 3285 Crosspark Rd.
- Theisen's, 100 Westcor Dr.
Annual Yard Waste Stickers
Buy by Mail
Send a check for $25.60, along with your name and address, to:
Coralville City Hall, 1512 7th St., Coralville, IA 52241
Write "annual yard waste sticker" in the check memo. The sticker will be mailed to you.
Buy in Person
Buy an annual yard waste sticker, valid during the pickup season, for $25, at:
Coralville City Hall, 1512 7th St.
Types of Yard Waste Allowed
- Leaves
- Lawn clippings
- Garden residue
- Plants and weeds
- Pumpkins and gourds (remove candles and other decorations)
- Food waste (see instructions below)
- Shredded paper
- Greasy cardboard pizza boxes
Not Allowed
- Trash
- Plastic
- Rocks
- Lumber
- Metal
- Concrete
- Glass
Food Waste
You can put food scraps or other organic materials in yard waste bags/bins during the months that yard waste is collected. No special composting cart is needed.
To reduce mess, wrap food waste in newspaper or in ASTM D6400 certified-compostable bags before placing food waste in a yard waste bin or bag. Regular trash bags and plastic bags are not compostable, and yard waste bins/bags with these will not be collected.
Yard waste picked up in Coralville’s curbside program is taken to the compost facility at the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center.
Dirty Pizza Boxes
Cardboard pizza boxes that have food residue on them can be included in your yard waste (recycle the clean part of the cardboard box).
Fall Leaves
How to Prepare Leaves
- Yard waste bag: Put leaves curbside in Coralville yard waste bags
- Container: Put leaves curbside in a 33-gallon container with an annual yard waste sticker
- Mulch/compost leaves for your own use.
Leaf Collection Tips:
- Use only Coralville yard waste bags. Other types of yard waste bags will not be picked up.
- Don’t place leaves in plastic bags; they cannot be recycled.
- Don’t rake or blow leaves into streets, ditches, or drainage ways—this clogs storm drains.
- Loose leaf piles are not collected.
Why does Coralville pick up bagged leaves, instead of a leaf vacuum?
- Fewer leaves wind up in the gutter when they are contained in yard waste bags or yard waste cans. Loose leaves piles at the curb blow back into yards and can clog storm drains, which blocks stormwater runoff and carries lawn pollutants into waterways.
- City yard waste picks up bagged or canned leaves on trash day each week. This gives residents multiple chances to get rid of leaves throughout the fall. Vacuum trucks operate with just a few passes through each neighborhood during the fall. Access can be limited by parked cars, and collection can be delayed by weather or mechanical problems.
- Leaves that blow into the gutter can be dangerous to bicyclists and motorcyclists. Leaves in the street can hide potential hazards, cause cyclists to swerve into traffic, and can become slippery.
Brush & Tree Limbs
Curbside Collection
Curbside pick up for brush and tree limbs is on your regular garbage day from late March until late November, weather permitting. Stickers are not required and there is no charge for the pickup.
How to prepare brush and tree limbs:
- Securely tie brush and tree limbs in bundles
- Bundles should be no greater than 18 inches in diameter
- Individual limbs in the bundles must be no larger than 2 inches in diameter and 4 feet in length
Haul It
You can also haul brush and tree limbs to the compost facility at the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center for free disposal.
Pumpkins & Gourds
After Halloween celebrations and fall festivities are over, dispose of your pumpkins and organic fall decorations properly: get rid of pumpkins by putting them in your yard waste, and not the trash.- Remove non-organic decorations like candles.
- Place pumpkins in your yard waste bin.
- Remember that full yard waste bags and containers cannot weigh over 40 pounds.
Why don't pumpkins belong in the trash?
When a pumpkin gets tossed in the garbage it winds up in the landfill. There, it rots in an anaerobic environment (absent of oxygen) and emits methane gas, a greenhouse gas.
On the other hand, composting -- which happens to your yard waste -- is an aerobic process, which eliminates the building up methane gas.
What else can I do with leftover pumpkins?
Turn that ghastly gourd into something good: compost. Pumpkins are 90% water and decompose easily, so they're an ideal addition toward a nutrient-rich compost mix.