The Ankeny Brief
Unlike Des Moines and many suburbs, the City of Ankeny does not provide garbage collection. Instead, Ankeny uses a subscription (open-hauler) model: every household signs up individually with a private trash company and pays that company directly. It's why your neighbor's cans might go out on a different day than yours, and why there's no single number at City Hall to call about a missed pickup: you call your hauler.
Aspen Waste Systems, Waste Connections of Iowa, WM (Waste Management), and Ankeny Sanitation are the private companies that provide residential garbage service in Ankeny. Call one to start service; they'll tell you your collection day and drop off a cart.
Availability and pricing vary by neighborhood. It's worth a couple of quick quotes. Some HOAs or townhome associations arrange one hauler for the whole street.
Recycling is coordinated area-wide, by Metro Waste Authority (MWA) through its Curb It program. You get a 96-gallon cart, and an automated truck empties it every other week. Your day and which week (A or B) depend on your address, and routes do change (a batch of Ankeny routes shifted in late 2024), so look yours up rather than guessing.
Look up your address on the Metro Waste Authority Curb It schedule, or download the Curb It app for reminders. The trick most people miss: your recycling runs on your regular garbage day, just every other week, and to tell which week is yours you match your cart lid color (black or green) to the matching week color on the Curb It calendar (free magnet calendars are at city offices). Questions: MWA at 515-244-0021. What goes in the cart (and the surprising stuff that doesn't) is on the same site.
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The city occasionally runs a seasonal community cleanup for larger debris: watch ankenyiowa.gov and the Brief for those dates.
Pick a hauler from the list above and call to start service; they'll deliver a cart and give you your day. For recycling, MWA's cart usually stays with the house. If it's missing, call MWA at 515-244-0021.
Because you may use different haulers. In a subscription system, each company runs its own routes and days.
For garbage, your private hauler. For recycling, Metro Waste Authority. There's no city garbage line.
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No. Ankeny uses a subscription model. The city does not provide garbage collection, and each household contracts individually with a private hauler. This surprises a lot of new residents. Recycling, however, is handled area-wide by Metro Waste Authority's Curb It program.
Private residential haulers serving Ankeny include Aspen Waste Systems (515-974-1400), Waste Connections of Iowa (515-265-7374), WM (Waste Management), and Ankeny Sanitation. You choose one, set up service, and they assign your collection day.
Your garbage day is set by whichever private hauler you subscribe to, so contact them directly. Your recycling day is set by Metro Waste Authority. Look it up by address on the Curb It tool or app, or call MWA at 515-244-0021.
Metro Waste Authority's Curb It program collects recycling every other week from a 96-gallon cart using automated trucks. Your specific day and week depend on your address; look it up on the Curb It schedule.
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