A subsidiary of Republic Services acquired a C&D landfill from Cornejo & Sons in Wichita, Kansas, regulators confirmed. It’s the second landfill the company has acquired in the state in recent months, solidifying its presence in the Sunflower State.
Republic has already spent $400 million on M&A this year, executives said during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Feb. 17. That’s after spending about $1.1 billion on M&A the previous year.
Much of that initial spend this year went toward a deal for assets from Hamm Cos., Republic CEO Jon Vander Ark said on the call. The company previously won approval from local officials to acquire the Hamm Sanitary Landfill in Lawrence, Kansas, on Feb. 3.
“Great disposal infrastructure, great opportunity for us to use that as a basis for further growth. So that was the anchor tenant of the $400 million,” Vander Ark said.
That landfill, which accepts municipal solid waste from the Kansas City metro area, has operated since the 1980s. Hamm Cos. had previously told officials about a deal in December, but it needed local approval to close due to hauling agreements.
Cornejo & Sons similarly sent a request to Kansas state regulators in November to transfer the CDR North Landfill’s permit to Wichita Waste Systems, a subsidiary affiliated with Republic Services. At the time, the seller noted the transaction had not yet closed, though the parties had agreed to terms.
The landfill's current permit expires on April 30. It accepted about 100,000 tons of waste in 2023, according to the most recent available data from state records. The request notes that the parties to the deal are not requesting any operational changes to the permit, and that "none are anticipated as a result of the Transaction."
Heather Merritt, solid waste permits section chief for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Waste Management, confirmed to Waste Dive that the permit was transferred on Feb. 13.
The company has also been working to expand its regional presence with a MRF in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton. Republic Area President Andrew Wempe, who was also listed on the CDR North Landfill documents, said in a May 2025 press release that the company saw growing demand in the region.
