Tennessee county introduces landfill restrictions

The Central Tennessee Regional Solid Waste Board, which oversees how waste is handled in Rutherford County, Tennesse, is considering new legislation that would prohibit the acceptance of trash from outside counties.  

The resolution, introduced by Rutherford County Representative Donna Barrett, was proposed on April 7. The board will have a public hearing on the matter on April 25, and the board will vote on the proposal following the hearing. The resolution will prevent waste from nine counties from going into the Middle Point Landfill, operated by Republic Services, Phoenix.  

“Tennessee has a goal of reducing waste that goes into our landfills by about 25 percent annually,” Barrett says. “I think any opportunity we have to cause the action that makes that change, we should take it.”  

In February, the board had previously voted to deny the expansion of the Middle Point Landfill, the main landfill in Rutherford County. With this new resolution, officials hope it will improve the amount of trash within the landfill by attempting to reduce 25 percent of the number of solid waste produced.  

Barrett says that about 70 percent of the waste that goes into the Middle Point landfill is from outside counties. The biggest contributor to this statistic is Davidson County, which contributes to about 46 percent of the waste being accepted at the landfill. Davidson is followed by Sumner County, which contributed 4.29 percent, Wilson at 4.04 percent and Williamson at 3.29 percent.  

Accepting the outside waste has created hazardous chemical reactions at Middle Point, forcing sections of the landfill to close prematurely.  

The resolution is based on the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991. The Act states that regions cannot prohibit acceptance of waste from outside if a landfill agreed to accept it before July 1, 1991. However, if acceptance of outside waste significantly impairs the region's plan, it could then consider banning it.  

If approved, the resolution will take effect no later than December 31, 2022.