Tennessee committee hears industry push for extended producer responsibility and recycling infrastructure

At a meeting of the Tennessee House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, industry representatives and recycling advocates on Monday urged the state to adopt extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies and to remove permitting and siting barriers so manufacturers can obtain more post-consumer feedstock from in-state recycling.

The presentations, delivered by Gary Cohen of the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Coalition, Donna Capecchi of Kaiser Aluminum, Don Haines of Florham USA, Cody Marshall of The Recycling Partnership and Katie Ravety Evans of the National Waste and Recycling Association, emphasized economic opportunities for Tennessee manufacturers, the limits of current local-government-funded recycling programs, and regulatory obstacles that hinder siting of material-recovery and composting facilities.

Why it matters: Presenters said Tennessee landfills contain hundreds of thousands of tons of recyclable packaging each year and that manufacturers in the state — including aluminum and tile producers — need reliable supplies of recovered material to expand domestic production, reduce imports and lower greenhouse-gas emissions associated with primary material production.

Commi…