VOL. 130 | NO. 78 | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Editor’s Note: This column will appear weekly throughout April in honor of Memphis and Shelby County’s Sustainability Month.

This Earth Day, the City of Memphis has much to celebrate. Over the last several years, we have seen a growing demand for walkable, healthy neighborhoods, vibrant public spaces, access to fresh foods, and energy efficient buildings. As mayor, I have worked to meet this demand and position Memphis to lead by example in environmental sustainability. This work is being recognized nationally as Memphis-Shelby County was recently designated a 4-STAR sustainable community, in the same company as places like Austin, Texas, and Portland, Ore.

One of the areas the City of Memphis hopes to make great strides in the coming years is recycling. The city’s recycling program began in 1994 and over the past 20 years we have diverted over 200,000 tons of trash from landfills. But recycling in Memphis has never been easier than it is today. The Division of Public Works, under Director Dwan Gilliom, is aiming to divert an even larger percentage of the waste from the landfills.

First, the city’s recycling program has gone to single-stream, which means all the recyclable materials go in one container. There is no need to sort at your home or at the recycling truck. All are co-mingled and sent to ReCommunity, a recycling facility that has recently upgraded to allow for sorting larger quantities of recyclable material collected in Memphis. With single-stream recycling and the upgrades in the sorting facility, more types of materials can be accepted, whether you have a small bin or a rolling cart. Additional types of plastic are now accepted as well as paperback books, juice cartons, and plastic buckets.

Last year, the city introduced larger recycling carts to 37,000 households in communities like Hickory Hill, Cordova, South Cordova, Countrywood, Berryhill, Eads, Windyke and Hillshire. This introduction was the first wave of citizens to receive 95-gallon recycling carts (the same size as your trash can). In this area of the city, recycling has increased from an average of 180 tons per month to 550 tons per month. This area consists of 20 percent of the Memphis population but now produces 55 percent of all recycling materials collected curbside within the city.

The rollout of the larger recycling carts in the rest of the city will begin with delivery this summer in waves of 40,000 at a time. Rather than roll these out in specific communities as we have done in the pilot area, the next wave will be delivered upon request. To be first in line, please submit your name and address to Joyce.williams@memphistn.gov.

The goal is to move the majority of city residents from the traditional 18-gallon bins to 95-gallon carts within the next three years. With these new carts, the City of Memphis projects a 200 percent increase in recycling citywide. This reduces fees for trash hauling and increases the rebates for recycled materials. In short it improves our bottom line – helping the city create a sustainable waste reduction budget and create a greener, greater Memphis.

A C Wharton, Jr. is the mayor of City of Memphis.