The big garbage truck rolling onto the scale at Waste Management’s facility north of Albert Lea represents a cost-saving improvement that will pay for itself.

That statement comes from Randy Bongard, district manager for Waste Management. “We were paying a third party to weigh our truckloads,” said Bongard. “That cost us $5,000 per month. We can save on those costs, plus the travel costs involved in off-site weighing, and the wear and tear on our vehicles.”

The 120,000-pound capacity scale allows Waste Management to operate more efficiently, he said.

“We can save a lot of time by using this on-site scale,” said Bongard, who works out of Waste Management’s Mason City, Iowa, office.

Kennedy Scale of Minneapolis manufactured and installed the new scale, which began operation Aug. 1.

“The scale represents a significant savings for Waste Management operations here. We hope those savings will help the scale pay for itself within five to six years,” Bongard said.