The Black Hawk County Solid Waste Management Commission promotes the proper recycling of electronics, tires, and sharps from businesses within the landfill’s service area.

Regulations for Business Generated Waste – Including Electronics, Tires, and Sharps

The State of Iowa Code and Administrative Rules (Chapter 567-100) regulate business generated waste differently than residential waste due to the larger quantity of materials generated by businesses. This also includes business hazardous materials, such as fluorescent light bulbs.

Different policies apply for household electronics, medical sharps, appliances, and tires.

Medical Sharps Disposal

Business generated needles, syringes, lancets, and other bio-hazardous medical wastes require proper disposal at a certified medical waste landfill. Contact a certified biomedical waste company, such as:

• GRP & Associates (Clear Lake, IA)
• MedPro (Naperville, IL)
• Stericycle (Lake Forest, IL)

Computers, Televisions, and Other Electronic Waste

Electronic items that are no longer usable or wanted are often referred to as “e-waste”. Millions of TVs, computers, cell phones, game systems, and other electric and battery operated items become obsolete every year. Many electronics contain hazards to human health and the environment. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, “E-waste accounts for 40 percent of the lead and 75 percent of the heavy metals found in landfills”.

Before purchasing, identify greener electronics and check with the manufacturer or retailer about their Corporate Product Stewardship or Extended Producer Responsibility Policies. Several major computer manufacturers (such as Apple, HP, Dell, and others) have recycling programs, trade in programs, and more for your old electronics. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has a Guide for Business E-waste with more information to help businesses address their electronic waste.

Recycle your e-waste through a certified electronic recycler for a fee:

• Midwest Electronic Recovery in Walford, Iowa.
• A-Line Iron and Metals is certified to accept electronic materials for recycling.
• The Cedar Falls Transfer Station accepts electronics for recycling for a fee and recycles them through Midwest Electronic Recovery.

Nationwide Retailer Recycling Programs:

Some local retailers collect electronics, ink cartridges, cell phones, and many other items for recycling and offer in-store recycling programs, trade-in options, rewards programs, and other options.

• Best Buy in Waterloo (319-833-9261) collects a wide variety of e-waste. Type “Recycling” in their page’s search bar for details.
  Please note:  Best Buy’s corporate recycling policies have recently changed.
• Staples offers recycling for ink and toner cartridges, as well as electronics.
• Cell phones and battery recycling locations can be searched (by zip code) through Call2Recyle.
• The U.S. EPA also maintains a list of device manufacturers and retailers and their recycling policies.

Tires

Improperly managed tires can create a hazard to us and our environment. Tires can be recycled locally. Fees apply.

• Pay the recycling fee at the tire retailer when you purchase new tires.
• The Cedar Falls Transfer Station
• The Black Hawk County Sanitary Landfill
• For large quantities, contact the certified waste tire processor Liberty Tire .

Have an item that you just can’t figure out what to do with?

Chances are that Earth911.com has an article with suggestions for that type of item. There is also an easy “search by zip code” feature to find nearby locations that may accept your material.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources also maintains an online recycling directory called the Iowa Green List.

Illegal Dumping of Tires, E-waste, Appliances, and Other Items

Old tires, electronics, appliances, and other items are often illegally dumped in city and county owned sites. This negatively impacts our environment and creates safety hazards 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.