Tennessee lawmakers are exploring a measure that would transfer the cost of recycling from local governments to producers. (Photo: Getty Images)
Tennessee lawmakers across the political spectrum echoed the same idea in a Wednesday committee meeting: Tennessee has a trash problem, and something must be done.
What that “something” should be is a topic of debate.
But a coalition of lawmakers, manufacturing companies and recycling groups are pushing for Tennessee to be the first Republican-led state to adopt a system that transfers the financial responsibility for recycling to producers instead of local governments.
The “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR) model is already in use in multiple European countries and Canada, and six states have approved EPR packaging laws. Companies that produce packaging products would pay fees into a producer responsibility organization that uses the funds for the collection, sorting and processing of recyclable packaging products.
EPR can come in many variations, but the general idea has won support from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council and caught the attention of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Sustainable Food Policy Alliance – which includes Nestle, Mars, Unilever and Danone – also supports the bill and EPR programs in general.
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It will take at least another year for the model to reach the Tennessee General Assembly for consideration. Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat and sponsor of the “Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act,” requested that the bill be deferred until January 2026 for more stakeholder engagement.
Campbell said the request stemmed from a “productive” conversation with the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, which has been one of the strongest opponents to EPR in Tennessee.
“We have a serious landfill crisis in Tennessee,” Campbell said during a Senate Government Operations Committee meeting Wednesday. “Tennesseans don’t want more landfills, and we need immediate action to address this challenge. Meanwhile, companies are actively seeking access to materials currently being buried in those landfills. They’re asking us to pass this legislation so they can put those materials to use.”
Campbell said the bill would keep nearly 1 million tons of recyclable products out of Tennessee landfills each year. As it is currently written, it would require Montgomery, Williamson, Rutherford, Hamilton, Knox, Davidson and Shelby counties to operate under a producer responsibility organization, but allows all counties with populations under 200,000 to choose whether they want to opt in.
All told, the bill has backing from more than 12 companies in Tennessee (with combined revenue totaling $200 billion) and the state’s aluminum industry, which could use more recycled aluminum to reduce dependence on importing new metal, Campbell said.
But the bill appears to be a ways away from consensus — skepticism in committees has centered on producers passing costs down to consumers and ceding some decision making to the system’s private board.
Sen. Paul Rose, a West Tennessee Republican, wasn’t sold on the idea.
“I recognize — I think we all do — that we have an issue … but I have issues with the bill as it was written,” Rose said Wednesday. “We do need to address this, and hopefully we can come up with a solution that everyone can get their head wrapped around, and their pocketbooks, because it’s going to cost money for sure.”
Manufacturers, waste association weigh in
The Tennessee Waste to Jobs Coalition pitched the EPR structure as a way to bolster manufacturing businesses in the state, divert usable materials from landfills that are quickly approaching capacity and take pressure off of beleaguered local governments.
The group presented the idea alongside the Recycling Partnership and representatives from businesses that said they could use far more recycled materials than the state currently produces.
Donna Kopecky, the vice president of sustainability at Kaiser Aluminum, said she supports the effort to increase aluminum can recycling rates.
The company employs 164 workers at its plant in Jackson, Tennessee, and about 80 salaried employees at its corporate headquarters in Franklin.
The U.S. can only produce about a third of the primary (“new”) aluminum supply needed to meet domestic demand, so companies must turn to Canada and other sources for the rest, she said. Recycled aluminum takes less energy to source and the metal can be infinitely recycled.
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Kaiser Aluminum averaged 50% recycled content in its packaging products in 2024, and could use more recycled aluminum, if the supply and cost is right. Demand for the metal is rising, she said.
“We need to capture more aluminum for recycling across the state, and this can be done by implementing recycling policy at the state level to help dramatically increase aluminum recovery and recovery of other valuable packaging materials in the state,” when paired with investment in recycling infrastructure and technology and consumer education, Kopecky said.
Florim USA, based in Clarksville, is the largest single-site producer of porcelain tile in the United States, Sustainability Manager Don Haynes said. One of the company’s goals is being green, and they are seeking out recycled glass to use in place of sand. The tile industry could use every glass bottle in the state and still have to buy more, Haynes said in a video presented to lawmakers.
“I’m not an expert on EPR, I’m not an expert on recycling, but I am an expert on using the glass,” Haynes said. “We would like the glass.”
Katie Raverty-Evans, vice president of chapter relations of the National Waste and Recycling Association, was not as enthusiastic about the EPR model.
The association represents about 70% of the private sector in the waste and recycling industry, and member businesses employ about 25,000 Tennesseans with a combined payroll of $1.4 billion, she said.
While she said the discussion of an EPR structure is “commendable,” the association has concerns — namely, the package fees they view as “unfair penalization of producers, especially … smaller, mid-sized companies.”
“Our point of view is, let’s take a step back and look at it,” Raverty-Evans said. “Nobody (in the U.S.) really has implemented the program yet. It’s all in assessments, it’s all in planning. And why push something so quickly … without seeing how it plays out within the other states?”
Tennessee will now have a year to grapple with the bill’s particulars and observe other states’ approaches.
Sen. Ed Jackson, a Jackson Republican and the chair of the State Government Operations Committee, said Tennessee needs to address its solid waste issue.
“I hope over this time before the next session that we can work something out that will really be productive and get the job done,” he said.
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