Banned cardboard, recyclables among trash from Cedar Rapids data center sites, Solid Waste Agency says

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — The Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency says Google and QTS data center construction projects in Cedar Rapids have thrown away 40,000 pounds of trash over the last year.

Joe Horaney, interim director of the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency, said the projects are generating large amounts of waste.

“They’re the only projects going on right now in Linn County that are generating, thousands of pallets, the giant spools with the conduits and wiring,” Horaney said.

Materials including wood and metal that could be recycled are instead taking up landfill space, according to the agency.

“It’s taking away the space that we want to be able to preserve for our residents that live here and our businesses that have been here before and are going to be here after these projects are over with,” Horaney said.

The Solid Waste Agency said the data centers are breaking the rules by throwing out cardboard, which has been banned from the landfill since 1999, according to the agency.

Since July, the Solid Waste Agency has charged double per ton for loads that contain cardboard.

“So we’re hoping that the higher prices would disincentivize them to bring in those loads, but it hasn’t been working yet,” Horaney said.

The Solid Waste Agency said one way to force data centers to recycle at least a certain percentage of their materials would be to include it in an ordinance.

“This is something moving forward, that the different municipalities could require of any project,” Horaney said.

The agency recommends data centers assign someone at job sites to keep recyclable materials out of the garbage.

“In the end, it would save them money, because all these loads coming in, they’re getting fined,” Horaney said. “It cost them less to get rid of their clean wood. If they find a different outlet for it, they can take back the metal and get paid for that.”

TV9 first discovered the data centers were throwing away recyclable materials and banned cardboard from a letter from the Solid Waste Agency sent to Linn County’s Sustainability Director back in February.

TV9 found that specific letter in the agenda for a Dubuque County Board of Supervisors meeting. The meeting is set for Monday, August 24, and is part of a Data Center Work Session. As part of the meeting, the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency will give a presentation, in which they will discuss the letter showing the waste the Cedar Rapids Linn County landfill is currently dealing with.

Google responded to the letter from February, writing: “Google is committed to sustainable operations. The claim is from February, which is hard to verify. What we can say is that we have rigorous standards for our operations and partner teams and will continue to collaborate with the local waste management facilities to ensure any waste from our project is being recycled responsibly.”

QTS also provided a statement, writing: “QTS is committed to responsible data center development and environmental stewardship across our projects. Large-scale construction projects generate a variety of materials throughout the development process, and waste management activities are handled through established construction and disposal processes. We have received your inquiry and are reviewing the information provided. At this time, we do not have enough context regarding the materials shown in the photos to offer additional comment. We remain committed to developing our Cedar Rapids campus responsibly and being a good partner in the community.”

Photos TV9 obtained on Friday from the Solid Waste Agency also include waste from data centers from July 2026.