Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
GARBAGE COLLECTION
GARBAGE COLLECTION. Fear of CHOLERA and the uncertainty of what caused it led efforts to clean up the City of Dubuque in 1866. Barrels were first placed in ALLEYS for kitchen waste collection. Sanitary Commission officials visited homes to inspect all buildings to see how much cleaning was needed. (1)
On June 12, 1866 city officials decided to supply all residences in Dubuque with barrels. These were to be used for the collection of all kinds of garbage. A time for the barrels to be picked up would be established when they were delivered. (2)
In August of 1866, the responsibility of cleanup fell directly on the property owners. (3)
Notice--All persons living on Main Street, from 11th Street to the
lower market, and from Main to Locust on 1st, are requested to clean
the gutters in front of their residence, shops or stores on Friday of
each and every week, and remove the same at their own expense.
On and after the first of September, the city scavenger will be dispensed
with and all persons will be required to remove offal at their own
expense.
William Herman
Sanitary Marshal, Dubuque
All property owners did not attack the garbage cleanup with the same vigor. (4)
We noticed that there is a good cholera belt on Main street
between 6th and 7th. The gutter in front of some of the
business houses is filled with a pool of water three or four
rods in length, which is fast being converted by a flock of
geese into one of the most filthy holes imaginable. However
pleasant it may be to the proprietors to see the fowls splash
and dive into the water, it can hardly tend to improve the
sanitary condition of our city, and we hope the nuisance is
removed immediately.
The note of sarcasm/humor in the previous editorial took on a tone of pleading within days. (5)
A Nuisance--All the filth and garbage of creation appears to
have accumulated on Main Street, and the condition of the
gutters in many places is actually disgraceful to our city
authorities. Can't something be done to get rid of the nuisance?
Notes of public "nuisances" continued to be announced in the newspaper, perhaps to encourage those responsible to clean them up. The following editorial appeared in 1872:
A Dirty Alley--The attention of the street commissioner, sanitary
officer, or deputy marshal is directed to the horrible condition
of the alley in the rear of the NEW JEFFERSON HOUSE on Clay
Street. If ever it wanted cleaning that time is now. The stench
arising is enough to knock down a Digger Indian, or a respectable
hog. Have the corps de shovel give that neglected alley some
attention. (6)
As the iced-over river was used by meat packers for the disposal of offal, it was used by some in 1872 for the disposal of decomposed prairie chickens. Members of the DUBUQUE ROWING CLUB protested that carcasses and other offal were being thrown near their boats around 4:00 a. m. (7)
On June 11, 1873, a notice appeared in the Dubuque Herald that anyone responsible for "nuisances" in alleys or outhouses were responsible for cleaning them up. Failure to take the responsibility would lead to arrest and the problem's removal billed to the person in custody. (8)
The board of health directed the efforts in 1873 to clean up "nuisances." In July the WATER DEPARTMENT pledged to the board of health sufficient water for cleaning foul sewers, gutters, and streets. The work of "purifying" the the east and west streets was started immediately and continued throughout the summer. Disinfectants were purchased and distributed by the health officer. Private property needing cleaning would have it done at the owner's expense. Those engaged in cleaning privies were given special notice: (9)
Parties engaged in the cleaning of vaults, and removal of night soils
will be summarily dealt with if found employed in such occupations
before midnight, or in the use of improperly covered carts and utensils
or if found depositing filth outside of the assigned localities.
Wells in general use having privy vaults contiguous to them and showing
evidence of contamination will be closed and the parties prohibited
from obtaining water therefrom. (10)
Sealed bids for the removal of all garbage and dead animals in the city from below the bluff south of Sanford Street six days during the week and twice each week on the bluffs were accepted by the Board of Health in 1890. (11) Citizens were informed in June 1890 that they were required to provide barrels or casks for their garbage and that throwing it on the ground would lead to arrest and fines. (12)
The use of CITY ISLAND as a landfill ended in August, 1976 when the dump on the island was closed and the Dubuque Metropolitan Landfill west of the city along Highway 20 was opened.
Plans for a household hazardous waste collection day in the fall of 1991 received a funding commitment by the Dubuque Metropolitan Solid Waste Agency. The estimated cost of the one-day event was estimated at $75,000 because the material collected had to be shipped out of state for processing. The state of Iowa had no hazardous waste disposal sites. Money for the project came from the local landfill tipping fees. (13)
The Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency (DMASWA) and Dubuque County in 1993 sponsored a tire recycling program funded by a $30,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The Iowa Legislature chose nineteen counties to participate. The program offered free tire recycling in place of the usual $1.75 for each passenger tire and $2.75 for each truck tire brought to the landfill. The fees paid for transporting the tires to a shredding site where they were converted to "crumb rubber" used in coal-fired generators to produce electricity. (14)
In 1995 the Dubuque Metropolitan Solid Waste Agency applied for and received a $100,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to start a household, hazardous waste collection center. Once the grant was received, the Solid Waste Agency formed a partnership with the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE and the Dubuque County Environmental Task Force. Task force members would mentor interns from the University of Dubuque's environmental studies program. These students would staff the collection center and handle its telephone hotline once the center was established. (15)
In 1997 the center's opening was scheduled for late spring or early summer. County residents would be able to drop off anything labeled toxic, corrosive or reaction free of charge. A private contractor would take care of the disposal. Also planned was a mobile collection unit that would go into neighborhoods or county communities. The object was to make collection easily accessible and frequent. Iowa's first toxic cleanup day had been held in 1986 with only three held during the following years. This was not considered often enough. (16)
Faced with the possibility of losing BFI Waste Systems as its largest customer in 1997, the landfill cut its waste-dumping fees nearly 30% to $28.00 per ton. Since the landfill received no tax-payer support, reductions had to be made. The choice was to eliminate the composting program. The landfill charged $28.00 for every ton of yard waste it accepted, but it cost $45.00 to produce a ton of compost. Dubuque's landfill was the only one in Iowa at the time to give away compost. (17)
The solution came from New Melleray Abbey. The monks wished to produce compost on their land to use in their organic farming program. They volunteered to take the landfill's yard waste. Eventually the monks planned to sell 20% of their compost to local organic farmers. (18)
One of the annual curbside collections occurred after the holiday season in January. "Operation Merry Mulch" provided for the disposal of natural Christmas trees on normal collection days for one week. Citizens and vendors could also transport trees to the landfill where a charge would be made of $2.00 per car or $4.00 per truck depending on weight. The estimated collection of 2,000 trees would yield 30 tons of compost. (19)
Trash did not seem so cheap in 1991. The Dubuque Metropolitan Solid Waste Advisory Board approved spending $231,000 on two pieces of equipment--a Caterpillar used to smash waste before dumping it in the landfill and a power screen used in the final step of the yard-waste composting process to remove large material and contaminants from the compost. (20)
Iowa law in 1993 stated that cities had to reduce their landfill waste by 25% before the end of 1994. That had been achieved by recycling and yard waste composting. The reduction, however, was not enough to meet the 2000 deadline by which cities had to reduce their landfill waste by half. The solution appeared to be solid waste composting and increased recycling. It cost the city $30 per ton for Environmental Recycling Company to take recyclable materials. The city paid $45 per ton for trash to go to the landfill. ERC officials estimated that the company was catching about 40% of the material and the amount could be doubled without an increase in cost. Composting meant constructing a regional municipal composting center which could reduce waste going to the landfill by 75%. At such inside composting centers serving several counties heat, humidity and water decomposed food and paper products. The work had to be done indoors because of the smell. (21)
In January 1998 the Dubuque City Council approved an amendment to the housing code that prohibited garbage containers being stored in front yards or on porches of multi-unit properties. Containers stored on the side of buildings had to be screened if they were in view of the street. (22)
In April of 1998 Solid Waste Management Supervisor Paul Schultz proposed a pilot program as a solution. Under the program, the city would provide selected multi-family properties and businesses with large plastic carts for residents to store their trash. Each cart which resembled a dumpster would be the equivalent of about three trash cans. The monthly rate of collection would remain the same. Participants would agree to try and recycle 28 percent of what they threw out. The new carts and equipment for semi-automated pick-up were to be ready by August. (23)
In 2010 the Dubuque Metropolitan Solid Waste Agency participated in a test of the Environmental Management System which was directed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The program's aim was to force local leaders to be proactive in their environmental efforts by setting annual goals in six key areas of landfill management--recycling services, greenhouse gas reduction, water-quality improvement, yard wast and composting management and environmental education. The plan replaced older goal-setting guidelines which used five-year plans. In 2016 Iowa had fifty landfills of which only thirteen continued to use the DNR plan. In addition to the annual goal-setting, a report had to be filed and two audits were completed annually. (24)
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Source:
1. "Be Prepared," Dubuque Herald, June 12, 1866, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18660612&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
2. Ibid.
3. "Notice," Dubuque Herald, August 12, 1866, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18660812&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
4. "Clean the Streets," Dubuque Herald, September 7, 1866, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18660907&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
5. "A Nuisance," Dubuque Herald, September 13, 1866, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18660913&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
6. "A Dirty Alley," Dubuque Herald, August 21, 1872, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18720821&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
7. "A Nuisance," Dubuque Herald, September 12, 1872, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18720912&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
8. "Notice," Dubuque Herald, June 11, 1873, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18730611&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
9. "Board of Health," Dubuque Herald, July 30, 1873, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18730730&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
10. Ibid.
11. "Notice," Dubuque Daily Herald, April 23, 1890, p. 4
12. "Notice," Dubuque Daily Herald, June 10, 1890, p. 4
13. Gilson, Donna.l "Dubuque May Have Waste Collection Day," Telegraph Herald, May 30, 1991, p. 3A
14. Arnold, Bill. "Tires Roll Into Landfill," Telegraph Herald, January 26, 1993, p. 3A
15. McDermott, Brad. "Partnership to Establish Hazardous-Waste Facility," Telegraph Herald, February 2, 1997, p. 3A. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19970202&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
16. Ibid.
17. McDermott, Brad. "Landfill Cuts Cost, Compost," Telegraph Herald, September 20, 1997, p. 1. Online" https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19970920&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
18. Ibid.
19. "Christmas Trees Soon to be Tons of Compost," Telegraph Herald, January 12, 1998, p. 3A. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19980112&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
20. "Panel OKs $231,000 for Waste Disposal," Telegraph Herald, May 2, 1991, p. 3A.
21. Eiler, Donnelle. "Landfill Need Solution Could be Composting," Telegraph Herald, December 13, 1993, p. 1
22. Wilkinson, Jennifer. "Program Might Trash Need for Amendment," Telegraph Herald, April 22, 1998, p. 1.
23. Ibid.
24. Jacobson, Ben. "Dubuque Landfill 1 of a Few to Adopt Iowa Management Plan," Telegraph Herald, July 6, 2016, p. 3A