City Council approves Capital Improvement Plan, including upgrade to sanitation system

MASON CITY — The City Council in Mason City last night approved the five-year Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Years 2026 through 2030. One part of the plan is modifications to the city’s sanitation system which calls for automated garbage collection as well as improvements to recycling.

Mayor Bill Schickel says the city will soon need to replace antiquated equipment and now is the time to make the changes.  “Our system is antiquated and we believe we can make it more efficient through automation. We won’t be laying anybody off, but there will be some changes, and I think the customers will really appreciate it. In terms of recycling, you’ll be able to put all your recyclables in one bin, and all your trash in another bin, and it will come by, operated by an operator with an automated pickup. It’s the way recycling and trash is being done, and I think it will be an exciting move for Mason City, but we’ve got to buy new equipment.”

Schickel says one of the biggest complaints about sanitation services is about how complicated recycling is, and this would help correct it. “It’s further complicated by the fact that people don’t know what the end use is for that recycling is often. Some countries that the United States has shipped recycling products to are no longer accepting them because they say there’s too much dirt in those products. That’s made recycling throughout the country very difficult including in the United States, but we’re taking some steps. We’re doing some things now that we think will help that and we think this next step will improve it more.”

The investment is slated for sometime in Fiscal Year 2026 with an estimated price tag of $3.56 million.

Schickel made his comments during the “Ask the Mayor” podcast that you can listen to by clicking here