Recovered Materials

The Recovered Materials section oversees the recycling, waste reduction and solid waste planning activities within the State of Tennessee. The section analyzes quantitative and qualitative data gathered from over 1000 recycling reports of public and private sources, landfill reports, and over 500 collection and recycling facility reports toward achieving the 25% waste reduction and diversion goal.

Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance on waste reduction and recycling is provided to counties, municipalities, policy makers, solid waste industry, recycling industry, NGOs, and residents in the following ways.

• Aiding the development and evaluation of Regional Solid Waste Plans, identifying equipment needs, providing solid waste and recycling infrastructure design, and referring issues to technical assistance providers (i.e. Development Districts, Southeast Recycling Development Council).
• Providing regulatory oversight and ensuring regional solid waste systems comply with the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991 (Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-211- Part 8).
• Preparing annual and quarterly data reporting provides support for statewide goals, the EPA National Measurement Project, and the Annual Report to the Governor and General Assembly.

2015-2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan

The Recovered Materials section is central to implementing the 2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan for the State of Tennessee through focus objectives, strategies, and tactics.

Annual Progress Report

Throughout 2023, DSWM staff has been working diligently to develop a new reporting platform for the Annual Progress Reports (APR) and Solid Waste Origin Reports (SWOR).

The new platform will be easier for report authors to use and the data collection will be brought in-house for better data management.

Re-Trac will be used one last time for Quarter 4 SWOR data for CY ‘23. All of CY ’24 SWOR data will be entered into MyTDEC Forms. 

If you need training for the new reporting platform, please reach out to Christina Perez to schedule a one-on-one.

Any data for the 2023 APR and 2024 SWOR can be entered at MyTDEC Forms. 

Additionally, the “Local Solid Waste Management Reporting and Planning Instructions,” a the 2023 Recycling and Diversion Reporting Surveys documents found within MyTDEC Forms will assist regions in further understanding reporting, requirements, and the current reporting
process.

• 2023 Residential Recycling, Diversion, and Disposal Survey
• 2023 Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Recycling and Diversion Disposal Survey

Municipal Solid Waste Planning Regions

A map for municipal solid waste planning regions can be found HERE.