A Canadian company is now the city of Merriam’s official solid waste provider for the next five years.
After a year of research and discussions on a citywide waste provider, the Merriam City Council on Monday voted 7-0 to approve a five-year contract with GFL Environment LLC for solid waste services.
In a separate 7-0 vote, the city council agreed to join the Mid-America Regional Council’s solid waste contract with other northeast Johnson County cities like Roeland Park. That contract with MARC locks Merriam into a deal that costs residents about $23 a month — which is generally cheaper than what most residents pay for their individual waste hauler contracts.
Councilmember Whitney Yadrich was absent.
For the past year, the city has researched and discussed moving from a multi-hauler system to a single solid waste hauler in an effort to save residents money and reduce the number of trash trucks on roads.
The contract covers trash, recycling and yard waste
The city’s contract with GFL includes weekly trash, recycling and yard waste pickup services. The city will announce at a later time how residents will receive their trash and recycling bins.
The contract provides the following, as outlined in city documents:
- Residents can choose a 65- or 95-gallon trash can, and also have an extra trash can for an additional $10 per month
- Collection of existing 22-gallon recycling bins (no new ones will be distributed)
- Weekly yard waste pickup, including up to 10 bags, bundles or containers
- GFL will offer one monthly large-item pickup day, with up to three bulk items per household
- Up to 20 items set out during spring and fall yard waste amnesty weeks
- White good collection (like large appliances such as a dishwasher) for $60
Residents must cancel their individual contracts by October 2026
By October 2026, Merriam residents need to cancel their individual solid waste contracts and opt into the citywide contract with GFL. The official contract with GFL starts on Nov. 1, 2026.
This is the result of a year-long effort from the city to research a single waste hauler option. The city eventually adopted a single waste hauler ordinance in April.
On Monday, Councilmember Reuben Cozmyer said he’s glad to see the contract includes a maximum 3% annual increase.
Cozmyer said he is also “really excited” to save money on trash services, as he currently pays $468 annually on trash services. This is lower than most people he’s spoken to, he said, but acknowledged that there are some people who may be paying less than he pays for trash.
“No one has said that they pay anywhere close to $276 a year,” Cozmyer said, which is how much residents will pay in one year at $23 per month.
The city still needs to finalize a billing system
In addition to finalizing a contract with GFL, the city council on Monday in a 7-0 vote approved the creation of a solid waste fund to help handle related expenses (like paying the hauler after charging residents).
Still, the city needs to finalize a system to bill residents for the solid waste services.
The options on the table are as follows, according to city documents:
- The first option is to have residents pay the contract rate established annually, with the first payment due on the December 2026 property tax bill. This means annual increases, per the contract, would be applied.
- The second option is to charge residents an average annual cost for the full duration of the five-year contract, which eliminates annual fluctuations but also means rates would be slightly higher in the early years. This option would begin billing residents in July 2026.
The city plans to finalize the billing structure during the 2027 budget process, which will occur next summer.
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