Mason City residents get first look at streamlined recycling, automated garbage collection

MASON CITY — Mason City residents got a first look at an upgrade to the city’s sanitation and recycling program at last night’s meeting of the City Council.

The council in March approved as part of the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan modifications to the city’s sanitation system which calls for automated garbage collection as well as improvements to recycling.

One of the biggest complaints through the last several years has been about how complicated recycling is, and the changes would allow all recycling to be placed in one 96-gallon container and be picked up every other week, while garbage would still be collected on a weekly basis. 

Public Works Director Jim Collins hopes the new collection system will start in about a year.  “Doing it every other week is very common in the state of Iowa and most places do it that way. With the 96-gallon unit, you can put a lot of recycling in there.”

Residents would be able to choose from 36 and 64 gallon units for garbage collection. Collins says the council in the near future will have to start making decisions on what the city needs to do to implement the plan.  “Next month, we’re coming to you with some proposals, and for you all to make some decisions on what you like, what you don’t like. Then we can really start to dig in and find the right vehicles, which we’re pretty close on, and find the right containers and start.”

City Administrator Aaron Burnett says the council will have a workshop session in the future about implementing the new plan.