Compost Facility opens March 22; Yard Waste bag stickers available for purchase, resident stickers offered

The Compost Facility at the Muscatine Transfer Station will open for the season at 9 a.m. on March 22, weather permitting, so put on those gloves, gather your yard tools, clean up the yard waste that has accumulated over the winter, bag it up, and take to the facility on South Houser Street.

Muscatine and Fruitland residents are permitted to bring yard waste from their residential property (grass clippings, leaves, and garden waste) to the Compost Facility free of charge. A fee will be charged for those who do not meet the residency requirements.

The yard waste does not need to be in paper compostable bags, but if it is brought in plastic bags, the yard waste would need to be dumped out and the plastic bags taken away with the customer.

Residents will also be able to bring brush and branches less than 10 inches in diameter and 10 feet in length to the facility. Larger tree sections and logs can also be taken to the location but tree stumps or roots are not accepted.

Solid Waste Manager David Popp reminds residents wanting to bring material to the Compost Facility that all loads need to be secured during transportation to and/or from the compost site as loose material may fall onto city streets causing traffic hazards or damage to vehicles.

CURBSIDE COLLECTION AVAILABLE WITH BAG STICKERS

The City of Muscatine continues to offer year-round curbside collection of yard waste on the residents refuse collection day.  Grass clippings, leaves, and garden waste will be picked up by the Solid Waste Division if the waste is placed in 20- or 30-gallon paper compostable bags and securely closed with a City of Muscatine sticker.

Stickers are only needed on bags that would be set out curbside for the City to collect on the residents regular collection day. The top of the compostable bag should be folded up with the sticker applied to help keep the top closed. The sticker does need to be visible to City staff as they proceed on their collection route.

The City of Muscatine stickers cost $1.50 per sticker and are available at the Muscatine Transfer Station, Muscatine City Hall, Muscatine Public Works, Fareway, HyVee, and HyVee Mainstreet. Stickers are for City of Muscatine residential yard waste curbside collection only.

Guidelines for curbside collection:

• Grass clippings, leaves, and garden waste must be placed in 20- or 30-gallon papercompostable bags and closed with a City of Muscatine yard waste sticker.
• Bags must contain yard waste only – no trash, recycling, building materials, or animal waste.
• Do not overfill bags (50 pound maximum) and keep them dry.
• Bags containing grass clippings, leaves, and garden waste will be picked up at the curb on the residents’ regular refuse collection day.
• Stickers are for City of Muscatine residential yard waste collection only.
• Place bags out to the curb after 4 p.m. the day before but before 5 a.m. the day of collection.

Tree limbs and other trimmings from trees and shrubs will be collected curbside on the residents refuse collection day but they are required to be bundled together with string or cord in four-foot lengths.

The Compost Facility is located at 1000 South Houser Street in Muscatine and open daily from 12-6 p.m. Sunday through Friday and from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturdays.

Non-residents and commercial users of the Compost Facility will be charged a fee for yard waste brought to the site. The fee schedule for non-resident and for commercial users is available on the Compost Facility page on the City of Muscatine website.

RESIDENT STICKER AVAILABLE

Residents of Muscatine and Fruitland will not be charged a fee for the use of the Compost Facility if they subscribe to City of Muscatine refuse collection. Residents can visit the Muscatine Transfer Station office (1000 S. Houser Street) to receive a window sticker to verify that they are a resident. A driver’s license with current address will be needed to verify residency.

Each resident will receive a sticker for up to two vehicles which should be placed in the lower right-hand corner of the windshield.

An attendant will be on site to verify residency and secure payment from non-residents and commercial users (cash or check only with no bills larger than $20.00) during Compost Site operating hours.

COMPOST AVAILABLE

The facility has screened compost and shredded mulch available for residents to pick up. Help loading compost will be offered on weekdays from 12-3:00 p.m. but limited to the availability of staff. Loading of mulch on Saturday and Sunday will be up to the individual as staff will not be available to help.

If you do not want to pick up compost at the facility, the Transfer Station will be offering a delivery service, but deliveries of shredded mulch, wood chips, and compost (when available) would need to be prescheduled by calling the Transfer Station. Deliveries would be limited to Muscatine and Fruitland residents on their trash collection day and limited to time available. A full one-ton truck load would cost $25.00.

The Compost Site also has firewood available for area residents. However, those wanting firewood are asked to check in with the attendant at the Compost Site and sign a waiver before cutting and/or loading firewood.

Please call the Muscatine Transfer Station at (563) 263-9689 for more information.

Compost Facility 2025 Fee Schedule (PDF)