No. Residents will continue to receive bulky item pickup, with the additional of an annual service rather than the biennial service the City was providing. The City will no longer conduct the Bulky Item Pickup program, instead require that all trash haulers licensed to operate in Overland Park provide an annual bulky item service to their customers.

Over the past five years, several challenges impacted the success of the program. These issues include increasing costs to provide service, the inability for trash haulers to complete the work, fleet limitations, and reduction in workforce to do the work. In 2020, the cost to provide the service increased by 83 percent.

Prior to considering this change, City staff researched the costs of trash services in nearby cities with this bulky item removal service format already implemented, and there is no different published trash removal rates. The City does not set the price of services provided by private haulers.

One of the issues with providing bulky item service as the City has historically done is an issue with equipment, workforce and labor shortages. With this change, the haulers can now schedule their workforce at a time most convenient to them and their customers, typically occurring during their normal weekday pickup times. In conversations with the trash haulers, this is their preferred way to serve customers.

City staff are working with the Environmental Advisory Council, a resident committee, to identify programs to provide simple and easy ways for people to recycle or drop off bulky items throughout the year. This could include the annual mattress recycling program, drop-off center services, and Recycling Extravaganza, and could also include smaller drop-off or recycling events.

Through the City’s Bulky Item Pickup service, crews took bulky items directly to the landfill. Additional funding to support and promote recycling and diversion programs can help keep these types of items out of landfills.