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Metro curbside recycling to resume Feb. 1





Byron Lomnick drops off cardboard to be recycled at the convenience center behind McGavock High School last month.Larry McCormack / Main Street Nashville

Byron Lomnick drops off cardboard to be recycled at the convenience center behind McGavock High School last month.Larry McCormack / Main Street Nashville

Curbside recycling pickup will resume in Nashville on Feb. 1, Mayor John Cooper’s office announced Tuesday. Every-other-week recycling pickup is expected by the end of June.

Recycling pickup was suspended Dec. 21 as Metro’s recycling trucks transitioned to trash pickup due to delays by contractor Red River Waste Solutions.

Red River, which is responsible for about 70% of household garbage collection in Nashville, filed for bankruptcy in October. Staffing and fleet issues prevented Red River from completing its 25 assigned trash collection routes, leading to dayslong delays for residents.

To prioritize health and sanitation, Metro temporarily suspended curbside recycling and used trucks to pick up household garbage collection instead, taking over five of Red River’s weekly trash routes. Metro also rented some trucks and began efforts to rehabilitate its own old fleet of trash trucks, just under one-third of which are operational.

 

 

Now, after weeks of residents taking household recyclables to Metro convenience centers, the curbside pickup program is set to resume.

“Today’s news is about city employees getting innovative to solve problems,” Cooper said in a statement. “I want to thank Metro Water Services and the employees at its Waste Services division for working long hours to cover for the failures of a private company and get curbside recycling back on schedule.”

Meanwhile, hours and staffing expanded at Metro’s four recycling convenience centers and 10 drop-off sites. Metro Waste Services also held several pop-up recycling sites around the county.

“We are proud of our community for their commitment to recycling and are pleased to report that recycling remained robust through the use of convenience centers and recycling drop-off sites, where recycling collection increased more than 50%,” Metro Water Services Director Scott Potter said.

Metro’s response to Red River is limited by the company’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. The mayor’s office announced Tuesday that the city plans to file a motion in bankruptcy court requesting that Metro be able to assign some of Red River’s routes to another provider to ensure timely pickup.

With monthly curbside recycling back online, increased frequency for pickup is expected in the coming months.

“I am committed to starting every-other-week recycling by the end of this fiscal year,” Cooper said in a statement Tuesday.

Metro Waste Services is continuing preparations to begin every-other-week recycling pickup later this spring, according to the mayor’s office. Cooper’s fiscal 2021-22 budget included funding and staffing for every-other-week recycling pickup.

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