Answering All Your Waste Management Questions

What’s the Schedule for Garbage & Recycle Pickup?

Akron

• Commercial stops are done according to custom pickup schedules on Mondays & Thursdays.
• Residential trash is weekly on Thursdays and recycling is picked up every other week. Please have it out to the curb the night before.
• For billing questions, contact the City of Akron at 712-568-2041. For all other questions regarding trash and/or recycling pickup, please call Van's Sanitation at 712-548-4644.

Hinton

• Trash pickups are every Thursday
• Click here to view our Hinton recycling pickup schedule.
• For billing questions, contact the City of Hinton at 712-947-4129.
• For trash and/or recycling pickup questions, please contact Van's Sanitation at 712-548-4644.

Le Mars

• Click here to view our Le Mars trash pickup schedule.
• For all billing questions & to start service, please contact Le Mars City Hall at 712-546-7018.

Oyens

• Click here to view our Oyens trash pickup schedule.
• For trash and/or recycling pickup questions, please contact Van's Sanitation at 712-548-4644.

Westfield & Craig

• Pickup schedules are same as Le Mars. Please see above.
• Westfield residents can contact the City of Westfield at 712-568-2631, to begin services and billing questions.

What Is Pickup Day for Rural Residents?

Rural customer schedules vary; however, most are on a four-week cycle.

If you have questions about your rural schedule, please contact the office at 712-548-4644 or 888-548-4651.

What Happens If Garbage/Recycle Pickup Day Is a Holiday?

IF YOU ARE A CITY RESIDENT: There will be no collection on a designated holiday. See bottom of page for designated holidays.

All collections will be moved back one day following the holiday.

So, if the holiday falls on a Monday, normal Monday collection will occur on Tuesday; Tuesday collection will occur on Wednesday; Wednesday collection will occur on Thursday, and Thursday collection will occur on Friday.

Regular pickup will resume the following Monday.

IF YOU ARE A RURAL CUSTOMER: If you are a rural customer with a metal dumpster, we will empty your dumpster at some point during the week to keep you on schedule. (Usually, the day before/after the holiday.)

If you have a trash tote that you put out for pickup, we will get it the day after the holiday.

Please remember that if you have a trash tote, it needs to be put out the night before for pickup the next day.

What Materials Can Be Recycled?

• Paper: Dry, clean paper products, such as newspapers, computer paper, magazines, mixed paper, junk mail, wrapping paper at Christmas time, etc.
• Tin Cans: Emptied and rinsed cans, caps, lids, and foil, such as food/beverage cans, hair spray cans, and food spray in a can (PAM). Leaving labels on is acceptable.
• Plastics: Rinsed plastic with lids removed, such as clear and colored plastics with #1,2,3,4,5, 6 & 7 stamped on the bottom, milk and soap jugs, food/beverage containers, and household cleaning bottles. If your plastic has a symbol of 1-7 on it, it is okay to place it in the recycling bin.
• NO PLASTIC BAGS OF ANY KIND, CHIP BAGS, CEREAL BAGS, ETC. Many packaging items have a recycle symbol that indicates whether they are recyclable.
• Cardboard: Clean cardboard without excessive food residue. Examples would be tissue boxes and food and beverage boxes (cake mix boxes, cereal boxes, laundry detergent boxes, etc.).

Materials do not need to be separated when using blue recycling totes, and bags are not required. Labels or bands from cans and bottles do not need to be removed.

Clean only enough to prevent odors. Please review our recycling guidelines to ensure you are recycling proper items and materials.

What Materials Cannot Be Recycled?

• NO PLASTIC BAGS: TRASH BAGS, SHOPPING BAGS, STORE BAGS, ETC.
• NO CLOTHING/SHOES

THESE ITEMS, ALONG WITH GLASS, STYROFOAM, GARBAGE, DIAPERS, FOOD WASTE, ETC. WOULD BE PLACED IN YOUR TRASH TOTES. THESE ITEMS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN BLUE RECYCLE TOTES.

• Glass should NOT be put into your blue recycle totes.
• Do not recycle containers with traces of hazardous materials, glass, excessive food waste, dirty, stained materials, or Styrofoam. These items should be put out with your regular trash.

How Can Businesses & Rural Households Recycle?

Visit Van's Sanitation recycling drop-off center at 1553 18th Street SW, Le Mars, IA. Read container labels that show what you can place in each.

• Le Mars:Parking Lot behind Fire Station No. 1 (Hardware Hank parking lot)
• Brunsville: SE of Elevator
• Craig: NW of Town Hall
• Kingsley: Between Hardware and Grocery Store
• Oyens: West of Post Office

How To Dispose of Hazardous Waste Materials

This includes but is not limited to, paints/thinners, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, batteries, fertilizer, and fuels/oils.

For information on how to properly dispose of such items, please contact the Plymouth County Landfill (546-6071).

How To Dispose of Tires

Tires must be individually hauled to the Plymouth County Landfill site at the residential household's expense.

How To Dispose of Appliances & Larger Items

Appliances and larger items can be taken to the Plymouth County Landfill during regular operating hours for a fee, which will be charged to your City Utility Bill.

Some items may require a $10/per-item demanufacturing charge.These include air conditioners, microwaves, washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, fluorescent lights, hot water heaters, furnaces, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, ranges, ovens, trash compactors, and other cooling units.

What About Yard Waste Removal?

Van's Sanitation offers weekly residential yard waste removal for a per-season fee (April 1 through November 30). This includes a once-a-week pickup on your garbage/recycle day of grass, leaves, garden waste, and tiny twigs in a green Van's Sanitation, Inc. 90-gallon tote.

Please note that this does not include large branches or twigs. If you are interested in having yard waste picked up, feel free to stop by the office, give us a call, or fill out the Start Service form on this website. Click here for yard waste pick-up guidelines.

Where To Go With Yard Waste, Branches, Twigs, Etc.

Please visit The City of Le Mars website for information.

What Are the Dumpster Rental Options for Cleanup Projects?

We have various dumpster sizes for residential, commercial, and construction projects. Visit our Dumpster Rental page for more information on sizes, acceptable items, etc.

Contact us online for availability and pricing.

How To Pay a Bill

We offer several payment options, including online payments, automatic billing, and traditional mail-in or in-person payments.

How To Start Residential or Commercial Waste Collection

Fill out the form on our Start Service page to enroll in any of our waste collection services, and we’ll take it from there!