Tennessee committee hears push for EPR to fund recycling, supply local manufacturers

NASHVILLE — Members of the Tennessee House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard presentations on state recycling and landfill capacity Wednesday, as proponents urged the committee to consider Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, to create a producer-funded recycling system.

Gary Cohen, volunteer outreach director for the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Coalition, told the panel that Tennessee landfills are being overwhelmed by packaging and that EPR would create a sustainable, non‑taxpayer funding source. “EPR is the answer to TDEC’s objective number 8,” Cohen said. He said packaging accounts for “almost 40% of all solid waste” and cited a statewide recycling rate of roughly 10–12 percent and a participation rate he put at about 47 percent.

Proponents argued that a producer-funded program would instead direct fees from brand owners to a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) to pay for collection, sorting and processing — shifting most costs away from local taxpayers and toward producers and brand owners. Cody Marshall, chief recycling officer at The Recycling Partnership, said, “Collecting recyclables and then processing it is the most expensive part of recycling, and that’s on the shoulders of the local government.”

Why it matters: Supporters said EPR could supply stable, near‑term feedstock for…