Bulky Item Pickup

In 2022 Overland Park’s bulky item pickup service transitioned from a City-operated program to a trash hauler-provided service.

Trash haulers will be required to provide a minimum of one bulky item pickup service each year.

Residents can work with their trash hauler to schedule pickup dates and determine which items can be picked up.

The City also provides additional opportunities to rid your home of larger unwanted items, including hosting the Recycling Extravaganza, coordinating a mattress pickup and offering construction debris dropoff events.

Contact

Gayle Bergman
Gayle.Bergman@opkansas.org
Sustainability Programs Coordinator
913-895-6164

Construction Debris Drop-Off

Disposing of old decking, fencing, lumber, railroad ties and other construction and demolition debris can be difficult. We can take some of those items off your hands.

Overland Park residents will have an opportunity to drop off one pickup truckload of materials at no charge at designated drop-off events in 2024. Check back for additional information, including dates, times, locations and a list of accepted materials.

Mattress Recycling

The City is facilitating a service to pick up unwanted mattresses and box springs. Residents west of Antioch may contact Sleepyhead Beds directly to pick up usable mattresses free of charge through December 15, 2023. Requests must be submitted by December 5, 2023.

Please contact your private waste hauler for curbside pickup of mattresses in poor condition.

Residents will have the opportunity to recycle and/or donate mattresses at additional events in 2024.

Questions + Answers

Is the City eliminating the bulky item pickup service?

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.

Why is the City making this change?

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.

Will my trash removal prices increase?

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.

If trash haulers can't complete the City's Bulky Item Pickup service, how will this fix the problem?

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.

What will happen to the money currently budgeted for this service?

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.

Is there a sustainability benefit to this change?

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.