A new trash hauler will be serving Prairie Village residents starting Jan. 1, 2027.
The Prairie Village City Council voted 9-3 on Monday to approve a 10-year and 90-day contract with Canada-based GFL Environment for solid waste services.
Councilmembers Shelby Bartelt, Betsy Lawrence and Inga Selders all voted in opposition to the GFL contract.
This comes as Prairie Village’s 10-year contract with Phoenix-based Republic Services, inked in 2017, comes to an end in December. Republic Services planned to increase monthly costs to residents from the city’s estimated $21.88 to $27, or an additional $61 in 2027 alone.
The contract with GFL comes in at $22.88 monthly for Prairie Village residents, with a 3% cap on annual increases through the life of the contract.
On Monday, a Kansas City-based waste hauler sent a letter of interest to city staff that said it was “prepared to provide all of the same collection services” to Prairie Village for $21.88 a month.
For Lawrence, one of the three councilmembers who voted against the GFL contract, another waste hauler signaling interest in a Prairie Village contract reaffirms her opinion that “this process has been too informal.”
Lawrence said she believes a standard request for proposals, or a formal ask for all interested parties to make an offer on a contract, is the “only true way” to compare potential waste haulers.
“I think it’s too informal for a contract of this size and this scope and that has a direct impact on residents,” Lawrence said. “Everybody expects their trash to be picked up.”
How they voted
Here is how Prairie Village councilmembers voted on the GFL contract on July 20:
• Cole Robinson: Yes
• Terry O’Toole: Yes
• Inga Selders: No
• Ron Nelson: Yes
• Andy Logan: Yes
• Shelby Bartelt: No
• Nathan Vallette: Yes
• Tyler Agniel: Yes
• Nick Reddell: Yes
• Betsy Lawrence: No
• Ian Graves: Yes
• Jim Sellers: Yes
What changes residents can expect
In general, GFL plans to provide similar services to that of Republic for Prairie Village solid waste collection.
That includes weekly trash, recycling and yard waste pickups for residents.
Still, residents can expect a few notable changes when the citywide contract switches to GFL in 2027 — namely, there is no annual large item pickup in the spring under the GFL contract.
Instead of an annual large item pickup event, GFL offers a monthly bulky item pickup. Residents can set out up to three large items, such as furniture, during a single monthly pickup.
Mayor Eric Mikkelson said he and City Administrator Wes Jordan agree that this may be more beneficial to residents as they will be able to get rid of large items on a regular basis rather than holding on to them for the one event each year.
Residents will also notice that there are no small bins offered under the GFL contract. The company only uses 65-gallon or 96-gallon carts, as the smaller ones tend to fall into the truck when being dumped.
Additionally, if GFL misses an entire route, the company could be fined $1,000. There are also customer service standards outlined in the contract that detail missed pickup corrections and the handling of complaints.
Highlights of the GFL contract are as follows, as outlined in city documents:
- It is $22.88 a month, or $274.56 a year, for residents’ trash, recycling and yard waste.
- The annual rate increase is capped at 3.5%.
- The city will be credited for the weight/volume of compostable items deferred from the landfill (the city has composting programs).
- Fines for excessive missed service will run $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense and $300 for third and subsequent offenses.
- Yard waste needs to be 40 pounds or less, compared to the previously allowed 50 pounds under the Republic contract.
KC Disposal submitted letter of interest
On Monday, city staff received a letter of interest from KC Disposal, a Kansas City, Kansas-based waste hauler, to offer solid waste services to Prairie Village for $21.88 a month.
In the letter, owner Matt Gibson said KC Disposal was “prepared to provide these same services at considerable cost savings to Prairie Village residents.”
Back in June, the city council in a 11-1 vote directed city staff to bring forward a contract with GFL for solid waste services. This same night, staff presented an option to the city council to take the contract out to bid.
Bartelt, one of the three councilmembers who voted against Monday night’s contract with GFL, was the only one to vote against staff working out a contract with GFL back in June.
For her part on Monday, after some discussion about whether KC Disposal is up to the challenge, Bartelt said the city needs to be clear about whether it wants to prioritize “the cheapest bid” or quality of service.
If service is paramount, Bartelt said, then Republic Services needs to be back on the table — which has been her sticking point throughout the solid waste contract discussion.
Similar to Lawrence, Selders, the third councilmember who voted against Monday’s contract, said she thinks the city can wait two weeks to properly vet KC Disposal’s ability to serve Prairie Village.
Councilmember Ian Graves, who voted to approve the contract, said that if the city council changed course for a bid that is $1 cheaper a month than the GFL contract, then it may as well go out to bid for the contract.
The request for proposals process takes roughly eight to 12 weeks, city staff said, which would put the city at mid-October for a potential decision point.
Graves said he believes “we decided months ago that that just wasn’t going to happen.”
To that end, Graves said the trash hauler decision is about more than the value and price point of a single vendor.
“One of the worst things that can happen in a city is the trash stops getting picked up,” Graves said. “Like one of the worst, the only other thing that’s worse than that is the sewer stops working. This is like the second bottom.”
Keep reading local government news: Merriam residents will pay $274 for trash pickup in 2027 — and about $8 more every year after that
