Whether it’s been an abundance of home improvements from those home during quarantine or that Summer tends to bring out the cleaning bug in Osceola, a lot of questions have been submitted to the city about trash and recycling pick-ups, their schedules, and what can and can not be left at the curb for pick-up. After a recent discussion with Osceola City Administrator, Ty Wheeler, guidelines for city residents have been outlined below and made available to help.
“We’ve seen quite a surge of questions about the trash and recycling services lately,” said Wheeler. “We want to make sure we have the right information out there so we can keep our city a clean and pleasant place to live.”
All one- and two-family dwellings within the city limits qualify for the city’s residential garbage collection contract through Jim’s Sanitation out of Creston, IA. Each resident is provided a 96 gallon trash receptacle as well as a 96 gallon recycling receptacle. Trash is collected weekly while the recycling bins are picked up every other week. The recycling receptacle is the one with the yellow lid and only recycling materials should be put in that for takeaway. For a schedule of when the recycling will be picked up in the city, please refer to the City of Iowa Events calendar on the city’s website.
Contents put into each receptacle should adhere to trash and recycling best practices. It’s important to separate trash that would go to a landfill from recycling materials sent on to other processing. The proper separation of trash from recycling also assists in the disposal of each item and reduces costs associated with post pick-up handling and sorting. For a guide on what materials should be put in trash vs. material that can go into recycling, please refer to the guidelines set by the EPA at https://www.epa.gov/recycle/frequent-questions-recycling
If residents fill their 96 gallon trash receptacle and need to use additional bags that will not fit into the container, a $1.00 (per bag) sticker will need to be purchased from City Hall to be included in the weekly pick-up.
Another option included in the city contract is a “Bulk item pick-up” provision. Through that, city residents can schedule a special pick-up of a single bulky item (e.g. – couch, chair, table, mattress, etc.) from their property. A call to City Hall or to Jim’s Sanitation directly will allow for scheduling of the pick-up. In the case of appliances and electronics like computers, televisions, and other special items, the purchase of a $25.00 sticker is required to schedule a pick-up. These stickers can be purchased through City Hall.
As a reminder, residential solid waste and recycling bins cannot be stored in the public right of way for more than 24 hours after collection has occurred. To avoid fines for violation, it’s suggested the containers are moved onto the property, close to the residence as soon as possible after collection.