Tennessee's landfills are overcrowded, and the government has reached a bipartisan consensus that action must be taken to address the issue. One vision for what that action might look like would require the state to do something no other Republican-led state has ever done.
While it can be said that the entire U.S. is in a landfill crisis, Tennessee's particular trash problem is still notably dire. The state stuffs its landfills with almost 1 million tons of recyclable materials every single year. Those recyclable materials are estimated to be worth $150 million.
Meanwhile, the largest landfill in the state, Middle Point Landfill in Murfreesboro, is believed to be within four years of exceeding its capacity and closing down.
Among the potential solutions proposed is one that has already been implemented in Europe, Canada, and five American states: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This policy takes end-of-life management of product packaging from taxpayers and local governments and gives it to the producer.
By making packaging producers responsible for the entire product life cycle, it incentivizes them to think about sustainability, waste management, and recyclability. They would also be required to pay fees to an organization that collects, sorts, and processes recyclable packaging.
Research shows that EPR can be incredibly successful when effectively implemented. A 2023 study found that EPR has the potential to boost residential recycling by nearly 50%, create near-universal access to recycling, and vastly improve overall recycling participation. It estimates that the program could increase the amount of recycled content by millions of tons and reclaim up to $91 million in lost value from discarded materials.
Should Tennessee adopt this policy, it would become the first Republican-led state to do so. While that sounds radical, the proposed bill is backed by over a dozen Tennessee companies, as well as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. That's an uncommon consensus that speaks to the urgency of the state's landfill situation.
"We have a serious landfill crisis in Tennessee," Sen. Heidi Campbell said. "Tennesseans don't want more landfills, and we need immediate action to address this challenge."
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