Ames bulk trash pickup
Not a City weekly bulk route — schedule with your licensed trash hauler (fees vary) or pay at Resource Recovery Plant / R3C for drop-off.
Source: Not yet confirmed
At a glance
| Limits | Recycling cart lid/use rules; additional recycle cart $5/mo; trash limits per hauler subscription. |
|---|---|
| Not allowed | Recycling not-list above; household hazardous waste/electronics via proper drop programs; City does not collect garbage. |
| Curbside | Not yet confirmed Checklist Source: Not yet confirmed |
Schedule
Curbside
Curbside checklist
City rules before collection day. Confirm with the city if anything looks off.
Where
City recycling at street curb (arrow/orientation per cart); trash per chosen hauler alley/curb rules.
Limits
Recycling cart lid/use rules; additional recycle cart $5/mo; trash limits per hauler subscription.
Not allowed
Recycling not-list above; household hazardous waste/electronics via proper drop programs; City does not collect garbage.
Bags
Recyclables loose in City cart (no plastic bags). Trash bagging per private hauler.
Fees and fines
No opt-out of $7.75 recycling fee for eligible dwellings; other enforcement dollars.
Not yet confirmed: When, Brush.
Source: Not yet confirmed
Find your day
Verified 2026-10-15 · experience.arcgis.com
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Full details for Ames: every rule, with sources
- Trash
- City of Ames does not collect residential garbage — open market of licensed private haulers (no assigned territories). Licensed list includes Ankeny Sanitation, Arends, Aspen Waste Systems, Garbage Guys, Jerry’s, Pratt, Prairie Waste Solutions, Walter’s, Waste Management, others — see city Licensed Area Haulers page. Residents choose hauler; frequency/day/cart rules are per hauler. Bulk/extra: arrange with hauler or self-haul to Resource Recovery / R3C campus (fees at facility; 515-239-5137).
- Recycling
- Citywide residential curbside recycling (started July 1, 2026): Aspen Waste collects every other week; 96-gal wheeled cart; $7.75/mo on Ames Utilities bill (mandatory for 1–4 unit properties; extra cart $5/mo). Accepts plastics #1–#2, cardboard, mixed paper, metal containers, glass containers. Not: berry containers, foil, batteries, clothing, large/scrap metal, appliances/electronics, plastic bags/film, Styrofoam, disposable dishes/cups, yard waste. Day via City ArcGIS “Curbside Recycling Collection Schedule” / 515-239-5120. Missed/extra one-time pickup: Aspen 515-974-1600 ($15). Default set-out is street curb even if trash is alley (exceptions: call City).
- Bulk pickup
- Not a City weekly bulk route — schedule with your licensed trash hauler (fees vary) or pay at Resource Recovery Plant / R3C for drop-off. Construction/demo and specials per hauler/RRP rules.
- Curbside: when
- Not yet confirmed
- Curbside: where
- City recycling at street curb (arrow/orientation per cart); trash per chosen hauler alley/curb rules.
- Curbside: limits
- Recycling cart lid/use rules; additional recycle cart $5/mo; trash limits per hauler subscription.
- Curbside: brush
- Not yet confirmed
- Curbside: not allowed
- Recycling not-list above; household hazardous waste/electronics via proper drop programs; City does not collect garbage.
- Curbside: bags
- Recyclables loose in City cart (no plastic bags). Trash bagging per private hauler.
- Curbside: fees and fines
- No opt-out of $7.75 recycling fee for eligible dwellings; other enforcement dollars.
- Holidays
Trash holiday slides are per private hauler — ask your licensed hauler. City recycling calendar/tool is the source for Aspen every-other-week dates; no single citywide trash ISO holiday table. Use hauler + City recycling lookup for holiday weeks.
- Hauler
- Licensed private haulers for trash (open market); Aspen Waste for City curbside recycling
- Contacts
- Recycling/billing 515-239-5120 [email protected]; Aspen 515-974-1600; RRP 515-239-5137
- Find your day
- City recycling schedule map / Licensed Area Haulers
- Sources
- Trash and recycling: cityofames.org 1, cityofames.org 2
Bulk: Not yet confirmed
Holidays: Not yet confirmed
Curbside: Not yet confirmed - Verified
- 2026-10-15
Town Rulebook is independent and not affiliated with any city or hauler. Schedules change — always confirm with your city. About & disclaimer