Welcome to Allamakee County Waste Management.  Join us on Facebook! 

For more information on this and other topics, please call Allamakee County Waste and Recycling - (563) 568-4806
Hours:  M,T,W, F 7:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.   TH 7:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.  Sat. 7:00 a.m.-12:00 noon   Closed Sundays

Location:  869 Hwy 9, Waukon, IA 52172
All other rural sites call 563-568-4806 for time and location.

House Hold Hazardous Materials

What Can Be Recycled?

Rural Drop Off

Home Composting: Reap a Heap of Benefits - Why compost?

The best method for getting rid of yard waste is also the easiest. Composting is nature’s way of turning your yard waste into a valuable soil conditioner. Composting helps your garden and lawn, saves water, benefits the environment, and saves you money on bags and commercial soil additives.

What to compost...

DO Compost: grass clippings, leaves, weeds & garden debris, small brush, twigs, wood ash, sawdust & wood chips, egg shells, and coffee grounds.

DON’T Compost: meat, bones, fat, dairy products, oils, whole branches, logs, pet or human waste, charcoal briquette ash, sawdust, or ash from treated wood.

How to compost...

All you need to compost are some basic gardening tools, materials for a bin, and a bit of soil to start the process. Bins should be square in shape, usually measuring 2’ x 2’ x 2’ or 4’ x 4’ x 4’. The bin needs to have air running through it, so snow fencing, bricks, and woven wire are excellent bin walls.

Recipe: Mix one part green yard waste with two parts brown yard waste in a pile. Mix in one inch of soil. Keep pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge. Turn pile every week to let air in. In between four weeks and a year, depending on how often you turn it and how moist the pile is kept, you will have a batch of compost.

Uses for compost...

Finished compost is a crumbly, sweet smelling dirt-like substance. It can be mixed into the soil to help the seeding process and to help fight erosion. It can also be used as mulch instead of commercial soil additives.

Yard Care: Do Your Share

Growing a healthy lawn...

• Rake up dead thatch before the grass grows in the spring.
• Let the grass grow out to 3 to 5 inches.
• Cut only the top third of the grass off at a time (about 1 inch)
• Leave clippings on your lawn.
• Water only every 1 or 2 weeks depending on your soil.
• Avoid over-fertilizing and have your soil tested every 3 to 4 years.

What to do with grass clippings...

If you use a mulching mower you can leave the clippings right on your lawn as a natural fertilizer. Otherwise, you can put your clippings, leaves, and brush in a compost pile for use as mulch later. If you live in a city, contact your city for the location of the yard waste collection site nearest you.