Beyond consulting and compliance, our team spent the season in the field helping Iowans divert waste, educate youth, and protect local environments. 

An organization’s mission looks pretty on paper (or on a website), but it means nothing until it is put into action. At IWRC, we practice the same waste reduction, education, and diversion principles we recommend to Iowa businesses every day. This summer, the IWRC team stepped out from behind the desk to work directly with our communities. From large-scale sporting events to local hazard collection drives, here is how our team recently put practice into purpose.

NASCAR’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, Newton, IA 

NASCAR has been composting its food waste behind the scenes for a while, but now the organization is involving race fans directly in these sustainability initiatives.

Prior to the sold-out Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, Dominique Dashwood from NASCAR contacted the IWRC to help coordinate volunteers for the Iowa Corngrowers Tent. Volunteers educated fans on separating recyclables from organic material and guided attendees in correctly sorting their waste into designated bins for trash, recycling, and food waste composting.

Together with back-of-house operations, 2,460 pounds of organic waste were successfully kept out of the landfill during the 2026 Iowa Corn 350.

A sincere thank you goes to our incredible volunteer team—Joe Bolick, Carter Bolick, Kevin Greene, Nate Greene, James Hoelscher, Rebecca Kauten, Olivia Merksick, Kenneth Miller, and Evalyne Trent—for helping make this event such a resounding success!

National Cattle Congress Junior Ambassador’s Club, Waterloo, IA

Designed for youth aged 3 to 13, the National Cattle Congress's NCC Junior Ambassadors Club offers an engaging, hands-on summer experience that introduces local children to agriculture through dynamic activities.

During the August events hosted at the NCC Hippodrome in Waterloo, the IWRC hosted an educational booth featuring "Waste Sort Plinko." Through this interactive game, our team guided families on how to effectively separate organic materials and recyclables from standard trash, reaching 37 elementary students (grades K–5) and 23 adults.

Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Fall Collection Event, Black Hawk County, IA 

To assist residents with the safe disposal of hazardous household items and the recycling of unwanted electronics, Black Hawk County Solid Waste Commission hosts drop-off collection events twice a year at no cost to county residents. 

On August 29, IWRC team members assisted, with the fall Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics collection. At the drive-through event, volunteers safely unloaded electronic waste and household hazardous materials from 620 participating vehicles, collecting 49 55-gallon drums of waste. 

It was a great summer spent in the field, helping Iowans divert waste, educate youth, and protect local environments.