Idaho Falls will transition to automated garbage collection

The Idaho Falls City Council approved a recommendation Tuesday night to transition to an automated residential garbage collection system.

The Public Works Department recommended the autoload system to reduce expenses and cut down on work related injuries. The final report by the department pointed to $576,704 in workers compensation claims between 2009 and 2013.

Public Works Director Chris Fredrickson said some of the public was apprehensive about services changing, but he believes the three-year transition will be smooth.

“This is a different way of doing business that we feel will be more efficient, perhaps some cost savings and also have less of an impact on our own employees,” said Fredrickson.

Part of the proposal includes increasing the sanitation rate by five percent, but that won’t be considered by the council until a later time.