Zero Waste Day

Office of Sustainable Practices Zero Waste TN

Annually on October 27, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and its partners celebrate Zero Waste Day. The event aims to raise awareness about waste in Tennessee and educate citizens on actions they can take to reduce it. TDEC and several local and regional partners are challenging Tennesseans to improve their waste habits.

In 2018, Tennesseans produced 8.1 million tons of waste, which amounted to 6.56 pounds of waste generated per person each day. This is 31.7% more waste generated per person each day than the national average of 4.51 pounds of waste per person per day.

On Zero Waste Day, TDEC and its partners are encouraging citizens to take actions that support zero waste.

Five Waste Reduction Actions

  • Re-Think – adjust your behavior as a consumer and make purchasing choices that limit your impact on the environment
  • Reduce – be mindful of unnecessary and wasteful items and learn to live without them
  • Reuse – give possessions a second life through creative reuse, repurposing, or donation
  • Recycle – use existing products to create new ones and reduce dependence on virgin materials and associated natural resource impacts
  • Re-Earth – compost your organics to divert the single largest waste stream from landfills
Zero Waste Made Simple: How to Go Zero Waste

Zero Waste Day 2025

In celebration of Zero Waste Day 2025, TDEC partnered with local organizations and small businesses to host Zero Waste Webinars, Giveaways, and Take-back days that were designed to educate citizens on the basics of zero waste,  and review local resources available to help citizens reduce waste in their every day lives. 

Additional details about our statewide partners can be found below.

Zero Waste Partners

Zero Waste Partners 2025:

Toyota Boshoku
Sage Refill 
The Good Fill 
Boshi Botanicals 
Tare Bulk Foods
Full Circle Refillery
NewTerra Compost
Regenerate 
Metro Nashville Zero Waste
TN Environmental Council

 

Zero Waste Take-Back Events:


Every year for Zero Waste Day, partners across the state host take-back events to accept miscellaneous and hard to recycle items to help keep these items out of landfills and to help reduce waste! You can search the map below to find a take-back location near you. Collectively for 2025, our partners were able to collect and divert a total of 5,311 lbs of miscellaneous recyclables.

 


To learn more about TDEC’s Zero Waste Day, follow @TNSustainability on Facebook, @thestateofsustainability on Instagram. If you are interested in learning more about how you can go Zero Waste, visit our Consumer's Guide to Zero Waste.