A new trash, recycling and yard waste provider may be in Prairie Village’s future.
The Prairie Village City Council on Monday voted 11-1 to direct city staff to bring back a contract for consideration with GFL under the Mid-America Regional Council cooperative. Councilmember Shelby Bartelt cast the lone dissenting vote.
The city of Merriam signed its own MARC cooperative agreement with GFL in July 2025, which officially starts later this year.
This move comes as the city’s 10-year contract with Republic Services, signed in 2017, draws to an end on Dec. 31, 2026 — and the Phoenix-based company is proposing an increased monthly cost to residents with a higher annual inflation rate.
A look at the options
City Administrator Wes Jordan outlined the following three options for the city council on Monday night:
- Option 1 — Renew a contract with Republic Services for three years, with the rate increase from an estimated $21.88 per month for residents to $27 per month, reflecting a 23% increase. Republic will also remove the 3.25% annual increase cap, and is instead opting for an annual increase that matches the Consumer Price Index.
- Option 2 — Put out a request for proposals, or ask all interested waste haulers to make an offer to handle Prairie Village’s trash, recycling and yard waste needs.
- Option 3 — Work out and consider a contract with GFL, who is the MARC regional purchasing cooperative partner for solid waste services. Other cities like Westwood, Fairway, Merriam and Roeland Park all contract with GFL under this cooperative.
Jordan said that if cost is the most important issue to the city council, then he recommends going with option 3 — signing a contract with GFL.
Option 1, renewing a contract with Republic Services, would mean less disruption to residents, Jordan said.
Still, the cost of the proposed rate increase is the equivalent of roughly one mill in terms of the city’s property taxes, Jordan said. The estimated value of one mill in Prairie Village is $719,182, according to a preliminary city budget presentation in April.
Additionally, Jordan said the consumer price index, or the inflation rate, has been around 4% to 6%, which would also result in an annual increase to residents.
As far as option 2, taking the service out for bids, Jordan said in talking with other cities that have recently gone out to bid for trash services, the rate for residents is likely to be higher than what they’d pay in a contract with GFL.
No specific rate for GFL was shared on Monday, but Jordan said it is more in line with the finance committee’s budget of $21.88 a month for residents.
Some residents want to stick with Republic
Two years ago, the city fined Republic Services $28,000 due to several issues with the company missing trash pickups in 2022 and 2023.
The company struggled to provide consistent Prairie Village service in 2022, and in 2023, the company received pushback from city officials after contracting out the city’s large-item pickup service.
Despite this, a recent city-sponsored resident survey found largely positive feedback regarding waste services in Prairie Village.
That positive resident feedback aligns with a recent question the Post asked on its social media page, with residents who responded mostly saying the city should keep Republic Services around because it’s been reliable.
“They’re getting the job done,” Marge Wagner said in her Facebook comment. “Any missed times they pick up the next day. Stay with known entity.”
At least one commenter said that paying more is warranted.
“Great service the way it is,” said Andrew Rutenbeck. “Pay up to stay with Republic. A reasonable increase should be expected – that’s what taxes are meant for.”
Similar to some residents who want to keep Republic Services in Prairie Village, the company itself wants the city to consider extending the contract.
“Republic Services has served Prairie Village as a reliable recycling and waste provider for more than a decade, focused on meeting the needs of residents and businesses across the community,” James Richardson, Republic’s external communications manager, said in an email. “We are hopeful the City will consider extending this long-standing partnership, which delivers consistent, high-quality service at competitive cost.”
For his part, Mayor Eric Mikkelson said during the city council meeting that the potential to switch trash providers “is a very big deal” as it’s “one of those fundamental, core services” a city offers to residents.
“If we were close on price here, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation,” Mikkelson said.
A contract will come back to the city council
After city staff and GFL representatives answered some questions, the city council ultimately approved moving forward with option 3.
This means city staff and GFL staff will work together on a contract to bring it back before the city council for final consideration. No contracts or final decisions were made on Monday.
At a high level, the standard GFL contract that other northeastern Johnson County cities use is largely the same as what Prairie Village has with Republic Services.
One of the biggest differences is the lack of special large-item pickup dates, which Prairie Village currently has during late April and early May.
Instead, GFL offers up to three bulk item pickups monthly for items such as couches or mattresses. Councilmember Terry O’Toole confirmed with a GFL representative during the meeting that this breaks down to 36 bulky items per household annually.
In response to a question from Councilmember Betsy Lawrence, Mikkelson said the city may consider a brief extension with Republic Services, and going out to bid in the event that the city council reviews the proposed GFL contract and cannot reach terms on it. (City Administrator Jordan said that brief extension could go up to 90 days.)
Councilmember Bartelt questioned whether city staff and Republic Services discussed cutting back on the waste hauler’s offerings to lower the monthly cost. Jordan said the city can explore it, but it would likely result in significant cuts to lower the monthly cost by $5.
Councilmember Andy Logan asked whether GFL will have “the capacity … to mitigate disruption” to residents by the end of the year, particularly given Merriam’s contract with GFL starting on Nov. 1.
Tom Coffman, the government contracts manager with GFL, said Merriam and a potential Prairie Village contract would be two separate projects.
Following Logan’s question and Coffman’s response, Mikkelson said given previous issues the city has had regarding Republic’s lack of trucks or drivers, the city needs to know “if there is any hesitation” about GFL’s capacity to handle Prairie Village’s waste needs.
“We need to know rock solid you’re going to have the trucks and the drivers ready to dedicate to Prairie Village on Jan. 1, and if there’s any uncertainty about that, I think now or the next time you come … we need to know that as a city,” Mikkelson said.
“We’ll have them,” Coffman said in response. “Even if we have to lease them, we’ll have them.”
Next steps:
- City staff will bring back a contract with GFL for the city council to consider at a later date.
- The city council meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month at city hall, 7700 Mission Road.
Read more about GFL’s contract with the city of Merriam here: Merriam signs 5-year trash pickup contract with GFL Environment for citywide services
