Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bedford County solid-waste staff outline recycling targets, proposed producer‑responsibility bill
Summary
Solid Waste staff presented county recycling figures and new state and vendor programs, including a proposed "Tennessee Waste to Jobs" producer‑responsibility bill and a SpringBack mattress program. Staff also reported household hazardous‑waste event turnout, recent recycling revenue, and projected regulatory changes for tire haulers.
Solid Waste staff told the committee that Bedford County’s residential recycling rate, calculated on county accounts alone, is about 21.43 percent and that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will provide a statewide percentage to help counties benchmark progress.
The Solid Waste Director said TDEC is recalibrating the annual progress report to emphasize county recycling tonnage and urged more local education to meet the state’s goal of cutting waste to landfill by 50 percent. "Tennessee is only recycling 12% of its 9,700,000 tons of residential waste," the Solid Waste Director said, noting the new emphasis is intended to increase county recycling totals.
Staff described a proposed statewide bill called Tennessee Waste to Jobs, a producer‑responsibility approach that would require producers and brands to fund collection and recycling of packaging at no cost to taxpayers. The Solid Waste Director said the approach aims to shift costs away from local governments and to create markets for recovered materials.
The committee heard about a private mattress‑recycling vendor, SpringBack, which will take mattresses and box springs for roughly $20 apiece. Under the proposed arrangement, SpringBack would spot a trailer for pickup but the county would collect the fee from residents at transfer centers; staff noted that multiple collectors and money handling could create audit issues.
Staff also outlined forthcoming commercial‑hauler requirements for scrap‑tire recycling, including hauler registration and manifests for truckloads being delivered to end recyclers; those rules remain in finalization and are not expected to be implemented until next year.
On local events, staff reported a household hazardous‑waste collection on Oct. 4 at the Agricultural Center that attracted 20 Bedford County residents. The state picked up about 500 pounds of properly segregated waste at no charge to the county and paid $1,436.75 to Clean Harbors for handling the material, the Solid Waste Director said. Staff also said the first load of glass was recently collected and that September recycling revenue totaled $9,035.67 from 91.82 tons; landfill costs for the month were reported as $52,002.37.
No formal action was taken on policy at the meeting; staff said they may return with additional information or rate recommendations in the future.
