by Bill Monroe, Staff Reporter Published June 10, 2026
Ames took a big step toward building a new facility to handle the city’s trash, recycling and yard waste. It comes with a price tag of more than $22 million. The city council approved a borrowing plan at its Tuesday meeting to pay for the new Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus. City staff estimate construction will require about $22 million in loans.
Ames is facing a tight deadline to completely change its half-century waste-to-energy program and city officials must make decisions quickly. The city is in the process of shifting toward a recycling-centered approach to solid waste management. A new resource recovery and recycling center (R3C) will replace the current waste management facility. Once finished, it will process solid waste, recyclable materials and yard waste, providing a modern and environmentally friendly system for managing the city’s waste.
by Bill Monroe, Staff Reporter Published March 25, 2026
City leaders voted to move ahead with a major overhaul of Ames’ waste system after trimming nearly $1.6 million from an over-budget project, bringing the total construction cost for a new Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus (R3C) to about $18.1 million.
by Bill Monroe, Staff Reporter Published March 11, 2026
Ames officials are working to close a multimillion-dollar funding gap after construction bids for a new recycling and waste facility came in far higher than expected. The combined base bids for building the city’s Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus (R3C) totaled $19.62 million — approximately $2.8 million more than the $16.82 million engineers originally estimated.
by Bill Monroe, Staff Reporter Published February 25, 2026
Ames residents could be wheeling new recycling carts to the curb by this summer — but city leaders want more time to make sure the public understands what’s coming before they sign the deal.
by Bill Monroe, Staff Reporter Published January 28, 2026
Ames is moving forward with plans to build a new Resource Recovery and Recycling Campus that will replace the city’s aging waste processing plant, and the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center is on track with its construction, the lobby floors require costly upgrades.
by Bill Monroe, Reporter Published November 29, 2025
Construction for a new facility to handle Ames’ community trash and recycling could begin this spring. Ames is building the new facility to handle the community’s trash and recycling, and work on the project is progressing well, the city council learned in a report reviewed at Tuesday’s meeting.
by Bill Monroe, Reporter Published September 24, 2025
A complicated project has a new manager to oversee things and the city hopes management costs will be offset by engineering savings. The Ames City Council gave Story Construction Co. a $1.25 million contract to help manage the building of a new recycling center.
