The Labette County Solid Waste Committee is continuing negotiations with Green For Life Environmental Services, which operates the transfer station, located in Parsons.
A 10-year agreement between Labette County and GFL began in 2020, and since then, the terms and rates outlined in the agreement have been brought to the negotiating table several times.
The original agreement included a 2% increase every other year during the contract. In the spring of 2022, rates were increased by an additional 3% due to an increase in fuel prices.
The county commission voted to increase the tipping fee, effective June 1, of 2023. Commissioners also voted to modify the agreement so that GFL would receive additional annual increases of 2%. Starting July 1, 2024, fees were increased by 2%, and then again in January, 2025.
In April of 2025, GFL asked for another rate increase due to inflation and the continued increase in costs, from the current rate of $45 per ton to $65 per ton, along with increasing the cost of roll-off dumpsters and out-of-county customers to $75.
In October of 2025, this was discussed by the committee, but no action or decision was taken.
In January, a letter from a GFL attorney was sent to the solid waste committee to request that the board participate in negotiations and finalize a rate adjustment by March 1.
Part of the letter states: “As we have communicated throughout 2025, GFL has faced unexpected increases in operating costs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic factors affecting our supply chain and employee workforce. Section 5.4 of the agreement explicitly provides for the parties to negotiate amendments in good faith when such unexpected costs arise. Unfortunately, despite our repeated outreach over the past year, we have not yet been able to commence these necessary negotiations.”
Should an agreement not be reached, the letter states: “GFL will be forced to exercise all available options under the agreement to protect it’s business interests, which may include issuing notice to terminate the agreement.
County Commissioner Vince Schibi said that if GFL ended the agreement, they would have to pay a fee of $150,000.
Last Thursday, the Solid Waste Committee met to discuss this letter, and proposed the following changes: GFL would receive another 2% increase in July, with 3% annual increases each January from January 2027, until the end of the 10-year agreement set for the end of December 2029. An increase in tonnage rate to $50 was also presented.
The committee expects GFL to present another counteroffer.
This story is still developing; any updates will be included in a future edition of the Parsons Sun.
