Tennessee municipality plans to add robots to facility

The West Tennessee Regional Recycling Hub has been awarded a $495,000 grant by The Recycling Partnership (TRP).

The partial required match of $330,000 increased the grant to $825,000. These funds will expand the West Tennessee Regional Recycling Hub’s materials recovery facility (MRF) to collect more recyclables and more efficiently process those materials. The hub, a regional collaboration heavily supported by Chester County, was selected because of its dedication to advancing recycling in the region.

“The Recycling Hub is a vital part of the West Tennessee region,” Mayor Barry Hutcherson says. “With the growth we are seeing in West Tennessee, I am proud that Chester County is expanding the recycling program and facility. It’s perfect timing.”

The county’s solid waste staff applied for and received the grant from TRP, a Washington-based nongovernment organization advancing the circular economy by building better recycling systems in U.S. communities and states. The partnership receives support from the Washington-based American Beverage Association’s Every Bottle Back initiative and the Beverage Association of Tennessee.

“Tennessee bottlers are focused on creating jobs and a cleaner, more sustainable future,” Beverage Association of Tennessee President and CEO Greg Adkins says. “This investment from American Beverage and The Recycling Partnership will go a long way toward accomplishing those goals and will help to ensure our valuable beverage containers can be remade as intended. We are grateful for this ongoing commitment so we can continue to invest in our local and rural communities.”

The TRP grant will allow the MRF to install robotic sorters which will increase its processing capacity to collect and process more polyethylene terephthalate bottles and polypropylene (PP), such as yogurt containers, butter tubs, cold drink cups and cleaning product containers. This will give the MRF the ability to economically expand recycling processing in the region. As a result, the facility will begin accepting PP so 136,000 area households in the area will now be able to recycle those materials. Additionally, the project is funding the expansion of the facility’s tipping floor which will allow the MRF to accept an additional 3,500 new tons of materials per year.

“The West TN Regional Recycling Hub is a critical piece of recycling infrastructure in West Tennessee that helps more than 400,000 residents recycle,” Solid Waste Director Amber Greene says. “Since 2010, the hub has formed effective partnerships, working toward the common goal of increasing recycling, waste diversion, and environmental education and outreach in rural West Tennessee. This grant provides the opportunity for us to expand our current programs and begin recycling polypropylene. It’s an exciting step forward.”