Lake Shore Disposal is currently undergoing a $1.5-million conversion that should make McCall and the surrounding area look cleaner, site manager Adam Johnson said.

The conversion is taking place in Valley and Adams counties and consists of three used garbage trucks that can accommodate new front-end loading trash bins for commercial customers.

The company should complete a transition of about 90 percent of its rear-load trash bins currently used by area businesses to front-end loading containers by the end of the year. The new containers are the same size as the old containers.

The new containers have lids that are slanted to help snow slide off the containers. The lids will also help keep trash from escaping the bins during wind, Johnson said.

Animals also have been getting into the current bins and spreading trash around town. The lids should limit the ability for many animals to get into the bins.

The new containers will also be easier on the employees of Lake Shore Disposal, Johnson said.

"The biggest struggle for our employees is handling trash through the winter," he said. "There's always a chance of an accident. We've been lucky not (to) have anything major happen."

The new front-end loading containers allow garbage truck drivers to stay inside the vehicle while collecting trash from area businesses. The current rear-end loading containers require the driver to exit the truck. It takes drivers about 20 minutes to collect trash from the current bins.

"We can flip it up over the top instead of standing outside in the cold," Johnson said. "It is a change, but in the long run it will clean up the area. It should be a cleaner town."

The regional trash and recycle company Lake Shore Disposal is owned and operated by Waste Connections, a California-based company that is publicly owned

Waste Connections acquired Lake Shore Disposal in December 2005. Waste Connections serves 1.5 million customers in 23 states, mostly in western and southern states.

Since the company is owned by Waste Connections, the old bins in Adams and Valley counties will be transferred to other Waste Connections operations in warmer climates, Johnson said.

The company has 125 trash collection operations nationwide. It operates 37 landfills, 47 transfer stations and 26 recycling facilities.

Waste Connections targets secondary and suburban markets that have strong demographic growth trends, such as Valley and Adams counties. The company avoids highly competitive urban markets.

Through the first nine months of 2007, the company had $710.8 million in revenue.

Waste Connections is the fastest growing and fourth largest trash-collection and disposal company in the country, Johnson said.

The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Folsom, Calif.

The company began with the acquisition of five solid waste operations in Idaho and Washington from Browning-Ferris Industries. It then expanded into the California market and went public in 1998.

The company is also working on a fully-automated system for residential trash pickup that will require less manual labor.