The Black Hawk County Solid Waste Management Commission promotes the proper recycling of appliances and tires in Black Hawk County. These items can be harmful to the environment and human health if they are not properly managed at the end of their product usefulness.
Appliances
Appliances contain hazardous materials such as refrigerants and PCB capacitors. Iowa law requires that all unwanted appliances be disassembled by a permitted appliance demanufacturer to remove hazardous components before the metal, plastic, glass, and other materials can be recycled.
Appliances include:
- Refrigerators & Freezers
- Microwaves, Stoves, & Ranges
- Washers & Dryers
- Dishwashers
- Air conditioners
- Dehumidifiers
- Water heaters
- Heat pumps
- Sump pumps
- Light ballasts
- Furnaces & Central heating/cooling units
- Thermostats
- Compactors
- Capacitor start motors & items containing them
Broken or non-working appliances:
- Some locations accept appliances for transport to a permitted appliance demanufacturer for recycling. Fees apply.
- Contact your city/county for their appliance recycling policy or city wide clean-up date(s).
- Best Buy in Waterloo (319-833-9261) accepts a variety appliances for recycling through their in-store and haul away options. Please note: Best Buy’s corporate recycling policies have recently changed.
- The Cedar Falls Transfer Station
- The Black Hawk County Sanitary Landfill
- Contact a local permitted appliance recycling business
- The Iowa Department of Natural Resources retains a database of permitted demanufacturers throughout the state.
Appliances in working order:
- Appliances (under 7 years old AND clean) can be donated to Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
- Stuff, Etc. also accepts some appliances. Contact their store for details.
Residential Rebate Programs
- Some energy companies have special programs for their customers for recycling certain appliances.
Tires
Improperly managed tires can create a hazard to us and our environment. Recycle your tires locally. Fees apply.
- Pay the recycling fee at the tire retailer when you purchase new tires.
- Contact your city/county for their tire recycling policy or city wide clean-up date(s).
- The Cedar Falls Transfer Station
- The Black Hawk County Sanitary Landfill
Illegal Dumping of Appliances and Tires
The illegal dumping of old tires, appliances, and other items negatively impacts our environment and the character of our neighborhoods. Illegal dumping creates safety hazards and impacts the quality of life for residents.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the cleanup of items illegally dumped in vacant lots and remote rural areas costs local governments MILLIONS of dollars every year. This also wastes city, county, and state staff time that could be dedicated towards other projects.
In order to crack down on illegal dumping, sanitation departments and law enforcement agencies in Iowa are starting to utilize cameras and other detection equipment to track down the responsible parties.
The State of Iowa’s laws regarding illegal dumping:
State Code of Iowa: 455B.307A Discarding of solid waste – prohibitions – penalty
House File 2385: In April 2016, this Act was passed relating to littering and illegal dumping and modifying penalties.
