Tennessee awards $1.9 million in waste reduction grants

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has awarded $1,902,024 in Waste Reduction Grants for community projects to help reduce landfill waste across Tennessee.

The grants go to 14 different recipients, with funds provided for equipment ranging from trucks and chippers to recycling carts and containers. The state says its intent with the grants is to support local efforts toward achieving waste reduction and recycling goals. Many of the grants will benefit rural areas in Tennessee.

“These grants help communities approach solid waste management to fit their specific needs,” says TDEC Commissioner David Salyers in a press release. “We congratulate the communities on these grants, and we are pleased to see their dedication to this issue. With this approach, we can make a real difference in waste reduction across our state.”

The Waste Reduction Grants are part of TDEC’s 2015-2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan, which contains specific objectives that will help communities reduce waste. The grants are designed to meet objectives to increase recycling access and participation, increase the diversion of organics and support new waste reduction technology. The 2015-2025 Solid Waste and Materials Management Plan can be found online.

The Waste Reduction Grants are authorized by the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991 and are supported by the Tennessee Solid Waste Management Fund, which is administered by TDEC. The fund receives revenues from a state surcharge on each ton of solid waste disposed in landfills and from a fee on new tires sold in the state.

Tennessee awarded nearly $2 million in grants to 14 recipients:

• $179,787 to Chester County for 3,744 radio frequency identification recycling carts;
• $75,000 to the city of Goodlettsville for a recycling truck;
• $180,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee for three recycling trucks;
• $30,536 to DeKalb County for a chipper;
• $110,012 to Grainger County for eight recycling trailers, four hoppers and one forklift; 
• $146,365 to Hardeman County for a recycling truck; 
• $51,858 to Jackson County for recycling center infrastructure, one forklift front-end loader and 10 six-yard cardboard collection cans;
• $128,000 to Lawrence County for a recycling truck; 
• $200,900 to Marshall County for a recycling truck; 
• $32,013 to Obion County for a recycling truck; 
• $36,402 to Overton County for four 40-yard recycling collection containers and four 30-yard recycling collection containers; 
• $484,273 to the city of Cookeville for a chipper; 
• $173,479 to Scott County for a recycling truck; and
• $73,418 to the Union County Solid Waste Authority for four recycling trailers, one compactor and two 40-yard receiver boxes.