Overland Park residents who pay up to $44 a month for trash pickup could pay less under a plan the City Council unanimously approved Monday, Sept. 14.

Resolution No. 5157 declares the city's intent to replace its open-market trash system with a city-contracted model covering solid waste, recycling and yard waste. The vote does not commit the city to a new system. It launches a formal process that, under the Kansas Organized Solid Waste Collection Service Act, could not produce new contracts before January 2029.

The cost gap driving the change is significant. Data from the city's Comprehensive Solid Waste Study shows residents in one sampled HOA pay as low as $18.51 a month. Residents without an HOA who contract individually pay $30.15 to $44, the Johnson County Post reported.

Councilmember Holly Grummert, who lives in northern Overland Park, said the cost of her own trash service "just jumped exponentially."

The study also found that some neighborhoods without HOAs have three or more haulers running trucks through the same streets each week, according to the city. The resolution cites reduced street wear, lower vehicle emissions and less noise as goals.

Seventy-eight percent of surveyed residents supported or were neutral toward a city-provided or city-contracted service, according to the study, as long as it remained consistent and affordable.

Mayor Curt Skoog said the city is being deliberate. "All of us rely on trash pickup in our house every week," Skoog said. "The last thing we want to do as a city is make a decision or be hasty so that all of a sudden trash doesn't get picked up."

Sustainability manager Lara Isch, the city staff lead on the overhaul, called the resolution exploratory and non-binding. A 90-day engagement period begins next, including a broader survey of HOAs and public information meetings to shape an official plan draft. The city will then issue a request for proposals from haulers.

Key questions remain open. The city has not decided whether HOAs can opt out of a future contract, how existing individual and HOA hauling agreements will be handled, or whether one hauler or several will be selected. Isch said those details still need to be worked out.

Craig Wilson, representing the Apple Valley Estates HOA, said in May 2026 that he does not oppose an overhaul but urged the city to allow HOAs to opt out. Olathe, Prairie Village and Mission already operate city-provided or city-contracted collections, and Merriam started a similar process in 2024, according to city records.

The next public hearing is set for Feb. 1, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Overland Park City Hall, 8500 Santa Fe Drive.