City of Waterloo Public Works Sanitation Department

06/16/2026

Reminder: Public Works will be closed Friday, June 19th. Garbage collection for Friday, will be on Thursday, June 18th the day BEFORE the holiday.

Download the Waterloo WYRE app for free on Android and Apple Play Stores for FREE for notifications and reminders for service!

06/12/2026

CITY OF WATERLOO ANNOUNCES JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY COLLECTION SCHEDULE
WATERLOO, Iowa — The City of Waterloo Public Works Department announces service schedule adjustments in observance of the Juneteenth holiday.

Public Works offices will be closed on Friday, June 19. As a result, residents whose garbage is normally collected on Friday will have their garbage collected on Thursday, June 18.

Recycling collection schedules will remain unchanged and will operate as regularly scheduled.

Residents are also advised that there will be no curbside yard waste collection during the week of June 15. However, the City’s yard waste and compost site will remain open and unaffected by the holiday. The facility will continue normal operating hours from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily.

The City of Waterloo appreciates residents’ cooperation and encourages households to plan accordingly for the adjusted garbage collection schedule.

For additional information, please contact the Waterloo Public Works Department at 319-291-4455. For valuable updates regarding services, please download the Waterloo WYRE app on Apple/Android Stores!

05/30/2026

Waterloo Sanitation Department Instituting Existing Cart Exchange Policy Effective June 1st, 2026:

The City of Waterloo Sanitation Department will begin implementing a $20 Cart Adjustment Fee for residential cart exchanges, removals, and additional cart deliveries after the initial delivery has been completed.

This fee will apply when the request is made for reasons other than normal damage or loss not caused by the household.

In cases where a garbage or yard waste container is damaged due to actions caused by the household, residents will be responsible for:

The cost of the replacement cart, plus
A $20 Cart Adjustment Fee

Residents will not be charged for repairs or replacement of carts that are damaged through normal use, equipment malfunction, or causes not related to customer actions. These repairs or replacements will continue to be provided free of charge.

The Sanitation Department appreciates the cooperation of Waterloo residents as these policies help offset operational and equipment costs while maintaining efficient service for the community.

For questions regarding cart services, residents may contact the Waterloo Sanitation Department during normal business hours.

05/26/2026

Holidays can be confusing when it comes to garbage collection. Are we getting serviced the day before or the day after?

Garbage collection can be very complicated scheduling around holidays and landfill closures. But you do not have to wonder anymore.

If you had the WATERLOO WYRE app installed on your smart device, you would receive a notification like this:

CURBSIDE RECYCLING COLLECTIONS WILL BE DELAYED 1 DAY THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK. MONDAY B WEEK RECYCLING WILL BE COLLECTED ON TUESDAY, MAY 26TH. PLEASE HAVE CARTS COMPLETELY CLOSED AND CURBSIDE BY 6 A.M.

Don't stay in the dark, get WYRE'd in so you never miss another collection!

05/25/2026

City of Waterloo Public Works Holiday Schedule – Memorial Day

The City of Waterloo Public Works Department will be closed on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day. Due to the holiday closure, garbage and recycling collection schedules will be adjusted as follows:

Monday garbage routes will be postponed one day and collected together with Tuesday routes on Tuesday, May 26.
NO other collection days will be affected.

Recycling collection routes will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week.
Republic Services collection will be Tuesday, the 26th through Saturday, the 30th.

There will be no curbside yard waste collection during the holiday week.

There will be NO BULK ITEM COLLECTION on Monday or Tuesday due to manpower needed for routes.

Residents are reminded that the yard waste/compost site will remain open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The City of Waterloo Sanitation Department appreciates residents’ patience and cooperation during the holiday schedule adjustment.

05/08/2026

Compost & Yard Waste Site Notice

The Compost/Yard Waste Site will now be verifying residency by checking driver’s licenses upon arrival. Staff will also inspect the contents of each load for approval before entry.

Once your yard waste load has been approved, attendants will direct you to the appropriate unloading area for disposal.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping keep the site safe, organized, and properly maintained.

05/06/2026

Our phone lines experienced a brief outage but have since been restored and are now fully operational. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Send a message to learn more

05/05/2026

Q: How come I am having trouble getting information regarding my collection?

A: Download the Waterloo WYRE app for FREE on the Apple and Google Play Stores. This is your direct connection to the Sanitation Dept. of Waterloo.
Not sure of your collection days? The app has reminders you can set.
Not sure how to get rid of something? The app has a Waste Wizard you can ask and get the answer.
Need to schedule a bulk item? You can schedule it through the app without leaving your home.

Don't have a smartphone, but I have a PC/tablet/laptop? You can access on the web right here:
https://www.cityofwaterlooiowa.com/departments/public_works/sanitation_department/index.php

Don't have a computer? You can still call our office and elect to have reminders called to you on your phone or emailed to you like the image of the email reminder in this post.

What about emergencies and route changes due to weather? Affected households signed up will receive a notification from our department of any changes!

Stay informed and get WYRE'D IN!