As floodwaters disappear from weather-weary Iowa, the state faces a new foe: the glut of garbage left behind.

Trucks will haul away an unprecedented amount of junk from ruined homes, farms and businesses, state environmentalists predict.

Getting rid of it will test collection crews, landfills and, in some cases, the environment.

A statewide tally of trash is months away, but officials predict 96,000 tons of rubbish will be cleared just from Cedar Rapids homes. That's enough to fill four and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools.

"It's kind of a monstrous undertaking," said Mark Jones, superintendent of the solid waste and recycling division for the city of Cedar Rapids.

"When you see the amount of materials, it boggles your mind."

Similar estimates for Iowa City and Des Moines weren't ready this week, but officials said the flow of trash to a landfill in eastern Polk County has jumped almost 75 percent since cleanup efforts started last week.

About 3,500 tons of trash flowed into the landfill on one day last week, and that's just the tip of the trash pile.

"I don't think we've even begun to see the tonnage rise, now that people are just starting to get back into their homes," said Amy Horst, spokeswoman for the Metro Waste Authority. The group operates the landfill, which takes trash from 22 cities and Polk County.

Soaked mattresses, moldy carpet, waterlogged stoves, computers and automobile parts are stacked up on curbs or piling up in Dumpsters.

In southeast Iowa, crews are scrambling to render and dispose of countless farm animals that were killed in the flood.

It took only a few hours for Jeremy Hudson and his buddies to haul a mud-caked bicycle, bedroom dressers and a washer and dryer from his flooded basement in Cedar Rapids last week.

At one point, floodwater was a foot high on the ground floor of his two-story home.

"All the furniture and everything else is going to get tossed," said Hudson, 35.

Time is of the essence, officials say. Trash from flooded areas not only stinks, it's dangerous.

Jones said sewage-filled floodwater leaves behind a toxic dust. Other hazards include household cleaners and thousands of pounds of rotting food in homes and businesses.

Full Story: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080621/NEWS/806210341/-1/SPORTS09

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