Mason City council tonight to get update on plans for automated sanitation collection, improved recycling

MASON CITY — The City Council in Mason City tonight will be holding a workshop session prior to their regularly scheduled meeting to have a further discussion and provide direction to staff on moving forward with the process for converting to automated collection for garbage and recycling.

The council in March as part of the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan approved 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 large container and be picked up every other week, while garbage would still be collected on a weekly basis.

The city’s finance director Brent Hinson says the city last year authorized a study by SCS Engineers, and following detailed discussion and analysis over a period of more than a year, staff has developed what they believe to be a workable model both financially and operationally.

Pending council input at tonight’s meeting and analysis of any changes needed, Hinson says staff will plan to come back to the council in September to authorize the ordering of equipment, including automated collection trucks and wheeled carts for garbage and recycling. Hinson says the goal is to implement the new system in the early fall of 2026, but the timeline may be impacted based on equipment lead times.

The council’s work session starts at 6 o’clock tonight in the Mason City Room of the Public Library, followed by the council’s regular meeting at 7 o’clock.