Every year, Tennessee sends nearly one million tons of recyclable materials worth $150 million to its landfills, contributing to a growing waste crisis. One state lawmaker is turning to a solution that’s been used in Europe since the 1990s: Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR.
If Nashville is blocked from using Middle Point landfill, what’s next?
The company that owns the landfill that receives most of Nashville’s trash wants to reject it. Here’s what that could mean.
Banana peels, nail clippings, pet hair? Nashville wants it all in curbside composting trial
In Nashville, about 30% of what people throw away is organic and can be turned into something useful: compost. But if offered, will people do it?
Chemical weapons were buried decades ago along the Duck River. Now a company wants to dig a landfill.
Tennesseans throw away more than 2,000 pounds of trash, on average, every year, and the dumping grounds for this waste are shrinking. Some companies are trying to make a profit with new facilities.
Tennessee can build a new landfill or expand Middle Point. A better option is to repurpose trash.
The Middle Point Landfill in Murfreesboro accepts waste from a third of Tennessee counties, including from Nashville, and officials have estimated that the dumping ground has as little as three years left – or maybe until the end of the decade.
What you can recycle in Nashville now
Nashville started a twice-monthly recycling program for residents this week. This mass of recyclables, and often non-recyclables, goes to a Waste Management facility near Shelby Bottoms Park, on the southern side of the Cumberland River, to be sorted into four waste streams.
To alleviate landfill woes, Murfreesboro wants to turn its trash into gas and ‘bio-coal’
The Middle Point Landfill in Murfreesboro is the dumping ground for about a third of Tennessee counties, and officials claim it is running out of space fast. Some towns are looking for other options.
Metro Nashville hires help for trash pickup while awaiting bankruptcy court
Metro Nashville has hired additional help to pick up trash due to the city’s ongoing struggles with its current waste contractor, Red River Waste Solutions.
Nashville’s curbside recycling is coming back Feb. 1
Metro Nashville halted recycling in December following staff shortages that affected trash pickup for several weeks, but the city will resume curbside recycling Feb. 1.
Nashville temporarily halts curbside recycling due to staffing shortage
Nashville is halting its curbside recycling program immediately to prioritize trash pickup, which has been backed up for weeks.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM