A History of Recycling and Trash in Franklin County

by Carol Fulmer, Special to the Messenger

Franklin County’s convenience centers provide citizens with a clean, user-friendly location to bring their recyclables and trash. Before 1970, county waste was taken to a designated piece of property where garbage was simply dumped. According to a 1966 survey, there were about 270 sanctioned dumps in Tennessee, many with problems such as odors, smoke, flies and rodents. 

The issue of groundwater contamination was addressed in 1976 when the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act was passed, prohibiting open dumping. This legislation required the county to have an engineered landfill that addressed many environmental issues. In response, Franklin County began using green boxes often located on the sides of the road; many times they were filled to overflowing. 

With the passage of the Solid Waste Act of 1991, constructing a landfill became more difficult. The regulations were needed to protect the public health, but made constructing a Subtitle D landfill too costly for most counties (the estimated cost was $300,000–$500,000 per acre). The 1991 law encouraged counties to move to the convenience center system by issuing grants for site construction; it also contained a waste-reduction mandate, requiring counties to make a 25 percent reduction in their landfill usage. Now Franklin County operates convenience centers across the county (including in Sewanee, Sherwood, Alto and Cowan) that provide clean, safe places for citizens to participate in recycling and to dispose of waste. When an individual puts something into the trash, it costs the county$31.87 per ton to handle the waste. But when an item is recycled, not only does the county not have to pay, but it makes money. Last year Franklin County spent $333,233 in landfill fees for waste, much of which could have been recycled. During the same time period, the county received $148,354 from the sale of recyclables. For recycling, the county accepts paper, cardboard, plastic containers #1–#7, aluminum and metal. Prices for recycling fluctuate; currently the county is receiving $105 per ton for cardboard, $60 per ton for newspaper, $210 per ton for metal and $130 per ton for plastic containers #1–7. 

Franklin County recycles all cardboard, even if it is wet. The cardboard is baled and stored until a truckload has accumulated; it is then taken to RockTenn for processing. There, the material is shredded in a water solution and made into a pulp; it is saturated in water as part of the recycling process. 

The county sells aluminum and metal to CFC in Manchester, which sells to a smelting company that makes it into new products. Plastic containers go to various companies, such as Recycle America, where the material is separated, chipped and sold to make things such as toys, T-shirts, carpet, bottles, garbage cans and picnic tables.

Everyone is encouraged to further reduce their contribution to landfill waste by composting, donating clothing to charity and recycling computers, televisions, computer and printer cartridges and rechargeable batteries at the Recycling Center on Joyce Lane, Winchester. By separating recycling from trash, everyone benefits from conserving natural resources, saving tax dollars and reducing energy usage. 

For more information visit <www.iswarecycle.net> or phone 962-9048.

Fulmer is the regional administrator of the Interlocal Solid Waste Authority.