It can be difficult to dispose of some items. We encourage you to look for responsible options that help to protect the environment. We offer some advice here. Please call our office at 913-715-6907 if you have questions about any disposal.

Tree and Brush Debris

The first thing you should do is contact your City Hall office for disposal options. A few cities, such as Olathe, have a free drop-off location for tree limbs and brush if you reside in the city. Most cities will have disposal options for tree and brush debris following a major storm event. It can be hauled to the Olathe composting site. There is no charge for Olathe residents but there is a fee for non-residents. A landscaping company or waste hauler can pick up the debris for a fee. It can also be cut up or mulched and composted or used for landscaping. If possible, a brush pile can be open burned after calling the local fire department and/or JCDHE for an open burning permit.

Olathe Composting
Open Burning Information

Large Appliances

Many cities have special bulky item pickup events during the year. Your waste hauler usually has a bulky item pickup once a month or several times a year. The items can be hauled to the Johnson County Landfill or the Olathe Transfer Station within the County. Many bulky items may be recyclable. Visit MARC’s RecycleSpot for recycling locations. Items can also be hauled to a reuse store such as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat Kansas City Restore. Large appliances with CFCs need special attention for proper handling of the Freon.

Tires

There are many tire dealers and auto shops that will take your waste tires. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has many regulations regarding storage and beneficial use of waste tire on property located in Kansas. The Johnson County Household Hazardous Materials Program offers up free drop-off of up to five tires if the tires are from your personal residence with a scheduled appointment.

Curbside Recycling

Johnson County is made up of many wonderful cities which all desite to help their residents dispose of trash, recyclables, and hazardous materials. Below are a list of cities with links to the appropriate pages on their websites. For more information check your city website or give them a call.

Bonner Springs | Edgerton | Fairway | Gardner | Leawood | Lenexa | Merriam | Mission | Mission Hills | Mission Woods | Olathe | Overland Park | Prairie Village | Roeland Park | Shawnee | Spring Hill | Westwood

All residential waste haulers are required to maintain a license from JCDHE.

 Licensed Residential Waste Haulers:

• Bumpy Roads Disposal: 913-727-1405
• City of Olathe : 913-971-9311
• Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc: 913-631-3300
• Gardner Disposal Service Inc: 913-856-3851
• Honey Creek Disposal Service Inc: 913-369-8999
• L&K Services Inc: 913-837-4637
• Linn County Transportation: 913-757-3354
• Ottawa Sanitation Service: 785-242-3227
• Republic Services, Inc. (Allied Waste): 913-281-4343
• Superior Disposal Service: 913-406-9460
• Town and Country Disposal: 816-380-5595

In carrying out its solid waste management duties, the Environment Division  inspects, monitors, and conducts other oversight activities pertaining to all solid waste management facilities in the County. The Department also assures investigation and proper cleanup of illegal solid waste dumps in the County and serves as staff support to the County’s Solid Waste Management Committee.

It’s Not the Dump Anymore

Today’s landfills that take household waste and garbage are called Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfills. The Johnson County Landfill is a MSW landfill and one of the largest private landfills in the country. The main requirements for the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D regulations include the following:

• Hydrogeological site evaluation to determine subsurface conditions.
• Construction of a geocomposite liner system for the base of the landfill.
• Construction of a leachate collection system to collect all fluids that contact solid waste.
• Develop and implement a program to exclude any regulated hazardous waste and PCB/s from entering the landfill area.
• Develop and implement a gas monitoring program to measure methane gas inside the facility structures and at the landfill perimeter boundaries.
• Develop and implement a surface water drainage program to prevent flow of water onto the landfill’s active face and be capable of collecting water runoff from the active face during a 24-hour, 25-year storm event.
• Maintain survey controls throughout the landfill area.
• Maintain record keeping for a variety of activities related to the landfill operations.
• Establish and maintain groundwater monitoring systems including sampling and data analysis, detection and assessment monitoring, and corrective action.
• Develop and update closure and post closure plans related to the eventual closing of each area and the 30-year monitoring of the area after final closure.

The JCL is in compliance with the KDHE and JCDHE regulations and is inspected at least quarterly by JCDHE and semi-annually by KDHE.

The Solid Waste Management Code

Johnson County Code of Regulations for Solid Waste Management 2010 Edition

Brochure on the Solid Waste Management Code: Planning for Our Future

The Solid Waste Management Plan

In Kansas, counties are responsible for solid waste planning. In Johnson County, solid waste planning takes place through the Johnson County Solid Waste Management Committee (SWMC) which develops a solid waste management plan (SWMP). The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) formally adopts the SWMP after a required public hearing.  As required by Kansas law, the SWMC and the BOCC review the plan annually. The plan must be approved by KDHE to become official.

Johnson County Solid Waste Management Plan 2013 edition

The complete current 2007 plan and its updates can be downloaded from these links.

The Complete Johnson County Solid Waste Management Plan
Appendices A – P
Appendix Q (2009 update)
Appendix R (2010 update)

Solid Waste Disposal Facility and Processing Facility Permitting

Anyone wanting to operate a solid waste disposal facility or a processing facility in Johnson County must be permitted. The Environment Division accepts permit applications for:

• Sanitary Landfills
• Waste Processing Facilities
• Tree and Brush Landfills
• Solid Waste Transfer Stations
• Materials Recovery Facilities
• Composting Facilities
• Industrial, Demolition and/or Construction Landfills

Find application forms for landfill operation on the Forms and Fees page.

Illegal Dumping

Illegal dumping complaints in Johnson County are handled through JCDHE and/or the Johnson County Planning, Development and Codes Office. The Johnson County Public Works Department also handles illegal dumping complaints for solid waste found along the county unincorporated roadway easements.

JCDHE follows the Johnson County Code of Regulations for Solid Waste Management (2010 Edition)  when investigating the dumping complaints. These regulations and resolutions are available by contacting the Environment Division at (913) 715-6900.

Examples of illegal dumping complaints include:

• trash and wood debris brought in from off site
• orphaned containers such as one-gallon, five-gallon, or even 55-gallon drums
• waste tires
• household waste
• construction/demolition debris

If you witness illegal dumping occurring, please contact 9-1-1 and report the activity. If you observe illegally dumped solid waste, please report the dumpsite by calling our office at 913-715-6900 or completing the online form for environmental pollution.