Stash the Trash

The annual Stash the Trash public spring clean-up event is scheduled for Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21. This event is co-sponsored by the City of Ames, Iowa State University, and Iowa Home Consulting. Stash the Trash is an annual weekend event where volunteers select public areas, green spaces, and parks to pick up litter.

Clean-up supplies are available through Friday, April 19, at the City Hall Community Center, 515 Clark Ave., or the drive-through lane at Resource Recovery Plant (RRP) 410 E. Second St. Supplies include two garbage bags and two pairs of latex gloves. A large trash receptacle roll-off will be available in Parking Lot S3, near Reiman Gardens, from April 20 to April 21 to drop off garbage collected during the community clean-up. Otherwise, garbage from the event may be brought to RRP at no charge. (Participants should let the attendant know the trash is from the Stash the Trash event.)

Volunteers may pick up trash in community areas throughout Ames the week before and the week after April 20. For large quantities of bags or large oversize trash items, call Iowa Home Consulting for pick up at 515.450.2946, and leave a message with details. For more information about Stash the Trash, please call Merry Rankin, Sustainability Coordinator, at 515.294.5052.

Garbage from this event will be processed at RRP. The facility accepts and sorts trash from Ames and the surrounding communities in Story County. Metals are extracted and sold for recycling. The remainder is shredded by machines, and the burnable portion becomes refuse derived fuel (RDF). RDF is piped to the City’s power plant and used with natural gas to generate electricity.