Iowa Waste Reduction Center

09/05/2026

What better way to kick off the school year than announcing the 2026 Diane Albertson Memorial Scholarship recipients! Introducing:

Lizzy Wolf is from Atkins, Iowa and is a 2026 graduate of Benton Community High School in Van Horne, Iowa. Lizzy is a freshman at Iowa State University studying Biology.
❤️Recycling and taking care of our environment for future generations.

Zack Morris is a 2025 graduate of BCLUW High School in Conrad, IA, and he is currently in his second year at Iowa State as a Biosystems Engineering major.
❤️ Finding more sustainable methods of agriculture.

About the scholarship: The Diane Albertson Memorial Scholarship is offered by the Iowa Recycling Association (IRA) in memory of Diane Albertson. Diane was an employee at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern Iowa for over 25 years. A strong supporter of the IRA for many years, Diane represented the IWRC on the IRA Board of Directors and served as an ex-officio on the board from 2013 to 2016.

09/02/2026

Please join us for our third P2 brewery Webinar, where you will get the opportunity to see how data is collected and analyzed during a P2 audit, AND how to increase P2 strategies using our recommendations!

Wednesday, September 16 at 11:00 AM CT

08/25/2026

J. Pettiecord, Inc. is one the leading land clearing, grinding, and recycling companies in the Midwest. The Solid Waste Educators spent August 20 touring J. Pettiecord’s Earlham facility, where they process organic waste into mulch and compost, and recycle wind turbine blades into large concrete blocks. It’s great to see some initiative being taken to recycle and reduce waste!♻️

08/25/2026

The Lineman Rodeo kicked off its second year at the Iowa State Fair. If you don't know what a lineman rodeo is, this video is worth a watch! 📹https://youtu.be/DbDB4SX5Y7c?si=kUeoUmIB9KTKlshF

IWRC Associate Director Dan Nickey was on-site to support the competitors and partner utilities.

08/20/2026

Our STAR4D certification booth will be at the 148th National Guard Association of the United States Conference from August 28-31! Join us in Indianapolis at booth #1443 to try out our virtual paint training simulator and learn more about what a STAR4D certification can do for you!

08/17/2026

⚡NEW Energy Efficiency resources are available on the IWRC website. Check out the new fact sheets to see what resources are available for your small business at the link: https://nuel.ink/kvN90u

08/17/2026

Congratulations Big Grove Brewery for setting a great example for sustainable practices in the craft brewing industry. You efforts make an impact!

Big Grove ships 150,000 pounds of spent grain to a cattle producer monthly, reuses its carbon dioxide, and gives $1 per case to neighbors.

08/13/2026

IWRC Associate Director Dan Nickey attended the IAEE member meeting last Thursday, where members toured and socialized at Big Grove Brewery in Cedar Rapids and learned about the steps they are taking to earn an Iowa Green Brewery Certification!

08/12/2026

Were you aware that NASCAR has been composting their food waste behind the scenes and now has been working to get race attendees to do the same?

The IWRC was contacted by NASCAR'S Dominique Dashwood to help attendees sort their waste into correct bins: trash, recycling, and food waste for composting at the SOLD-OUT NASCAR event, Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, in Newton, Iowa this past weekend.

Shout out to Kenneth Miller, Rebecca Kauten, Olivia Merksick, Evalyne Trent, Carter Bolick, James Hoelscher, Kevin Greene, Nate Greene, and Joe Bolick for helping us with this event. It was so much fun!

08/11/2026

Pre-register today!

The Iowa DNR is hosting a webinar THIS Thursday highlighting the updates to Emergency Management System standards! Follow the link below to register now to learn how to navigate the ISO 14001:2026 update.