Mayor David Briley announced two grants worth a combined $2.8 million to increase recycling once a month to every-other week in Metro Nashville on Wednesday. The grants were provided by the Tennessee Department of Environmental and Conservation, The Recycling Partnership and beauty brand Love Beauty and Planet, according to Mayor Briley.
The increased recycling is expected to fully expand by early 2020. Metro Nashville plans to use the grants to buy 16 collection vehicles and provide 8,000 more recycling carts to households, allowing them to access curbside recycling service. The Recycling Partnership will also provide funding, as well as expert technical assistance to launch an education and outreach campaign to support its curbside recycling program.
More than 139,000 Metro homes are expected to be affected by the program. “We have a high quality of life here in Nashville, but it’s my job to always work to improve it,” said Mayor Briley. “By upping recycling collection and enhancing our education campaign around it, we can continue to make our city greener and more sustainable. I am grateful for these grants and our partners in this effort. I know it will go a long way towards making our city an even more beautiful place.”
“This funding from the Partnership and TDEC enables us to positively impact a massive amount of Davidson County residents,” say Mark Sturtevant, Metro Nashville Public Works Director. “We’ve been waiting a long time to go from monthly to every-other-week collection. Public Works is thrilled to finally be able to improve our recycling program and collect more quality recyclables at the curb.”
“TDEC is pleased to be able to offer this funding to Nashville to support its waste reduction goals,” said Greg Young, TDEC deputy commissioner. “This will impact a large amount of Tennesseans and, ultimately, the broader region as we look to support reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills across the state.”
“The grants to Metro Nashville is a powerful example of how partnership can drive real change,” says Rob Taylor, Director of Grants and Community Development at The Recycling Partnership. “TDEC’s support combined with donations from our funding partners, especially Love Beauty and Planet, make this work possible. Increasing collection frequency and growing access to recycling service while providing education to residents is a comprehensive model for recycling success.”