2015-2025 Solid Waste Management Plan
Final Document
The document linked below is the final version of the 2015-2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan (the 2025 Plan). The 2025 Plan incorporates public comment recommendations and feedback.
Since April 2015, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has focused efforts toward effectively implementing the 2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan. Progress is shared primarily through the 2025 Plan website, Board updates, public meetings and conferences, and the Annual Report to the Governor and General Assembly. There are many opportunities to be involved in the implementation of the Plan, and we value the input provided by all stakeholders during this process.
Background
The 2025 Plan, adopted in April 2015, is TDEC's strategic roadmap containing broad objectives and ideas to reduce disposal and increase recycling in Tennessee. The 2025 Plan itself does not change or modify Tennessee statutes or rules.
Municipal Solid Waste Planning Regions
How was the plan developed and who was involved?
TDEC held various outreach meetings and public hearings to collect input and feedback about what should and should not be included in the 2025 Plan. Further input will be invaluable as we implement the identified objectives and strategies.
Objectives
Objective 1: Updating Goals and Measuring Progress
Description
The purpose of this objective is to establish more robust solid waste management goals, to more accurately measure the disposition of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Tennessee, and to better assess progress toward achieving those goals. As part of this objective TDEC will also develop and conduct training to help local governments understand how to accurately measure and report.
Over the past year, TDEC has focused efforts toward effectively implementing the 2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan and specifically toward updating the state diversion goal. At this time, the Objective 1 working group has recommended postponing the goal update and focusing on consistent reporting and data accuracy.
External Working Group
The purpose of the external working group is to provide an opportunity for TDEC to collaborate with local governments on effective and efficient implementation of the 2025 Plan. Representatives include TDEC’s Division of Solid Waste Management and Office of Policy and Planning as well as local governments representing diverse solid waste and recycling programs. Volunteer members recruited by TDEC and the Tennessee Solid Waste Director's Association (TSWDA) have committed to a series of working meetings aimed to deliver interim work outcomes and build support to successfully implement the 2025 Plan. Recently, the non-profit environmental organization, Tennessee Environmental Council, joined the working group to provide another perspective on further developing an Integrated Solid Waste Management Systems for Tennesseans.
TDEC Division of Solid Waste Management continues to encourage feedback via the public participation form at the bottom of this page. In an effort to provide regular updates and encourage input, the 2025 Plan Objective 1 working group members will share minutes following each meeting. After the working group meeting the Objective 1 and 8 webpages will be updated to reflect working group efforts. The next meeting is to be determined. The current minutes for the previous four meetings can be found below.
Background
Initial work to update the 25% diversion goal included the efforts of an Objective 1 working group that researched and evaluated other state goals, analyzed statewide municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal, recycling and diversion data, and hosted a series stakeholder input meetings to share new goal recommendations.
Much of the stakeholder input was focused on funding and costs, terminology, data and measurement, and fail-safes. Based on input concerning data accuracy the working group conducted further analysis of the data at the regional level. The working group concluded that TDEC was not in a position to make a sound decision for updating the state goal due to inconsistent fluctuations annually in the reported data for MSW disposal, recycling and diversion.
Postponing the goal update for 2-3 years will allow TDEC to focus on improving the quality of the data and preventing reporting inconsistency to better understand current disposal and recycling conditions. TDEC will also review reporting requirements and the Annual Progress Report format to make it easier to submit data.
TDEC has formed a working group with the Solid Waste Directors Association to get better input on what goals and measures would work best with the counties’ current activities.
There will be many opportunities to be involved in the implementation of the Plan. We value the input provided by all our stakeholders during this process.
Objective 2: Increase Recycling Access and Participation
Description
Objective 2 in the 2015-2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan describes TDEC's goal to increase access and participation in recycling. TDEC has developed and implemented several strategies to accomplish this goal.
Giles County partnered with TDEC's Division of Solid Waste Management (DSWM) to complete their County Convenience Center construction and began operation of two new convenience centers in March 2016. The Convenience Centers offer waste collection, comingled recycling drop-offs, and used oil collection to the residents of Giles County.
In early 2016, TDEC-DSWM began the process to develop a new grant plan, simplify grant applications, and provide tailored grant offerings to better meet the needs of local governments. In July 2016, TDEC-DSWM announced the Cycle 1 grant opportunities for the Recycling Rebate, Recycling Equipment, and Used Oil Grants. Grants workshops were held across the state to present the new grant offerings and to help local governments navigate the electronic applications. Over 65 interested applicants from across the state attended these events. The workshops featured an overview of the funding increases in all three grant offerings and highlighted the expanded eligibility. The Cycle 1 grant applications are due October 3, 2016. TDEC-DSWM is pleased with the new grant improvements and credits input from internal and external stakeholders that helped to guide the revision process.
TDEC-DSWM hosted a Recycling Hub and Spoke Workshop on March 1-3, 2016 with all eight TN Hub Directors in attendance. Presentation topics included facility design, data management, outreach, safety, and recycling contracts.
Objective 3: Promote Material Processing and End Use in Tennessee
Description
In August of 2017, TDEC partnered with United States Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) to launch the Tennessee Materials Marketplace. The program aims to create a closed-loop, collaborative network of businesses, organizations and entrepreneurs where one organization’s hard-to-recycle waste and by-products becomes another organization’s raw material. In addition to diverting waste from landfills, these recovery activities generate significant cost savings, energy savings, and create new jobs and business opportunities.
Staff with the Division of Solid Waste Management and the Office of Policy and Sustainable Practices work alongside USBCSD to solicit involvement in the program by engaging directly with Tennessee businesses to learn about their challenges in finding the highest, best use for their by-products and waste streams. We also work with local governments, trade associations, and non-profits to create a diverse and dynamic materials marketplace in Tennessee.
The marketplace already hosts a wide variety of participants, including multiple major manufacturers in the automotive, furniture, appliance, and chemical sectors as well as multiple recyclers, food brands, and local governments.
To learn more about the Tennessee Materials Marketplace, please visit https://tennessee.materialsmarketplace.org or contact Vaughn Cassidy.
Objective 4: Increase Diversion of Organics
Description
Objective 4 in the 2015-2025 Tennessee Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan details TDEC's goal to increase diversion and reduction of organic waste. TDEC made substantial progress toward this objective in the past year.
To encourage composting and beneficial use of organics, TDEC awarded 5 composting grants totaling $2,486,303 in January 2016. Since then, TDEC has identified several state facilities where composting should be prioritized and has provided technical assistance for food scraps composting to Henry Horton and Natchez Trace State Parks.
TDEC is proud to announce the launch of our organics website consisting of guides to organics source reduction, organics reuse, and organics recycling. Some of the topics include: food donations, gleaning, feeding animals, grasscycling, composting, mulch production and use, biofuels, and creating less organic waste. Additional topics such as anaerobic digestion and reclaimed lumber will be covered in the future.
The Division of Solid Waste Management held a roundtable discussion on October 6, 2016 to engage local state agencies, private businesses and industry, educational institutions, and non-profits on the opportunities and obstacles to food waste reduction and diversion in middle Tennessee. The Department used the information gleaned from this discussion to tailor the then future Organics Management Grant criteria.
On the same day, TDEC held an education and outreach event in cooperation with Nashville's Metro Government, Nashville Farmers Market, the Mayor's Office, Second Harvest, Nashville Food Project, NRDC, and The Compost Company. This Food Waste Reduction and Diversion public event was held at the Nashville Farmers Market and featured a screening of the film Just Eat It, local exhibitors, announcements, and food waste reduction demonstrations.
Objective 5: Support New Waste Reduction and Recycling Technology
Description
Objective 5 in the 2015-2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan describes the TDEC's goal to support new waste diversion technology. TDEC is exploring ways to develop and implement strategies to accomplish this goal. Some efforts include converting the "composting grant" into an "organics management grant" so that anaerobic digestion, anaerobic fermentation, gasification, biodiesel production, biomass-to-energy, and pyrolysis will be eligible.
Objective 6: Expand and Focus Education and Outreach
Description
Objective 6 in the 2015-2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan describes TDEC's goal for expanding and focusing education and outreach concerning waste reduction, recycling, and composting programs to the public. The State has developed and implemented several strategies to accomplish this goal.
Over the past year, the Division of Solid Waste Management (DSWM) has made an effort to increase the public’s knowledge of our regular Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) mobile events through electronic newsletters and is looking at new and innovative ways to publicize these events through social media.
DSWM is also partnering with the Solid Waste Association of North America, Tennessee Recycling Coalition, and Southeast Recycling Development Council to launch the Tennessee Training Academy to provide increased training opportunities for solid waste and recycling professionals in materials management concepts. The Division also recently enhanced the website to be more resourceful and dynamic by creating a new composting page, so that local governments or interested individuals can research composting and determine the best way to implement organics diversion in their own lives.
On October 6, 2016 TDEC partnered with the Mayor’s Office, Metro Government, Nashville Farmers Market, Second Harvest Food Bank, Nashville Food Project, NRDC, and The Compost Company to host an education and outreach event at the Nashville Farmers Market. This Food Waste Reduction and Diversion Community Event featured a showing of the documentary film Just Eat It, numerous local exhibitors, public announcements, and demonstrations on food waste reduction and diversion.
Lastly, in partnership with Tennessee State Parks, DSWM staff will be participating in an environmental literacy working group. This working group will develop K-12 curriculum aimed at increasing environmental knowledge among young people in Tennessee.
Objective 7: Ensure Sufficient and Environmentally Sound Disposal
Description
The purpose of this objective is to monitor disposal capacity to be sure it is sufficient, and ensure that disposal facilities are maintained in an environmentally sound manner.
Objective 8: Develop Sustainable Funding Sources for Sustainable Materials Management
Description
The purpose of this objective is to ensure that state and local governments have sustainable funding sources in place to develop and support programs to manage MSW and materials. TDEC's Division of Solid Waste Management and Office of Policy and Planning are starting discussions to evaluate solid waste fee data. A small working group of local governments representing diverse solid waste and recycling programs and environmental groups will be participating in fee discussions and assisting with data analysis. The April 2017 meeting notes can be found on the Objective 1 webpage. Objective 8 was briefly gone over during this meeting. As Objective 8 develops, the working group outcomes will be shared on this website.
There will be other opportunities to get involved in the implementation of the Objective 8. We value the input provided by all our stakeholders during this process. This website will be updated as new opportunities to share your comments and areas of interest arise.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is the 2025 Plan enforceable by law?
As adopted, the 2025 Plan itself does not have any force of law. However, achievement of objectives stated in the 2025 Plan may require the incorporation or modification of specific actions into statute or rule. Prior to establishment of such actions via statute or rule, the Department is required to go through additional processes.
What is the timeline for implementation of the 2025 Plan?
The 2025 Plan contains objectives, timeframes, and roles and responsibilities for implementing goals stated within the plan over a ten-year period (through 2025). Specific action items necessary to implement the objectives, strategies and tactics are determined annually and based upon available resources, need and opportunities. Implementation updates will be shared on the web site and in the Annual Report to the Governor and General Assembly.
Who is responsible for implementing the 2025 Plan?
Objectives, strategies, and tactics included in the 2025 Plan have been crafted such that the Department is one of the primary entities responsible for implementation. However, the successful execution of all objectives, strategies, and tactics are dependent upon active participation and contribution from communities, businesses, and industries across the state.
How will implementation of the 2025 Plan affect my community?
Each of the eight objectives includes strategies and tactics that that may be implemented at a number of different levels. For example, some actions may be implemented within the Department’s internal processes; some actions may be implemented at the state government level via legislation, rule, policy, or program offerings which may impact local government operations and/or policies.
What are the benefits associated with reducing waste disposal and increasing recycling?
In 2015, the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries conducted a study of the economic impacts of recycling in the U.S. and on a state-by-state level. The study revealed that in Tennessee:
- The scrap recycling industry provided 4,428 direct jobs, $338 million in wages, and an overall economic impact of $1.3 million in 2015.
- When indirect benefits were included, there were 13,760 jobs attributable to scrap recycling in Tennessee, $846 million in wages, and a total economic impact of $2.9 billion.
| Contact |
|---|
| Joelle Ciriacy 615-969-9963 Joelle.Ciriacy@tn.gov |
| Vaugn Cassidy 731-512-1343 Vaughn.Cassidy@tn.gov |
| Christina Perez 901-425-6183 Christina.Perez@tn.gov |
This Page Last Updated: March 20, 2026 at 2:31 PM