Contact: Vice Mayor Angie E. Henderson, [email protected]
This week Vice Mayor Angie E. Henderson and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sean Parker announced the formation of a Solid Waste Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to be chaired by Metro Council Member At-Large Burkley Allen. As Council’s most tenured member, Allen has previously served on the Public Works Committee, was a member of the Solid Waste Master Plan Taskforce, and currently serves on the Nashville Sustainability Advisory Committee. Allen and fellow members of the Hillsboro West End Neighborhood created the city’s first neighborhood recycling drop-off in the 1980s, and she has focused on responsible waste reduction and disposal ever since.
The Nashville Sustainability Advisory Committee was established in August, 2023 by the passage of Ordinance No. BL2023-2004. Council Members Burkley Allen and Sandy Ewing were subsequently appointed to the committee by Mayor O’Connell to serve two-year terms. The Sustainability Advisory Committee, which meets quarterly to discuss issues including solid waste reduction and diversion strategies, is staffed by the Mayor’s Senior Director of Sustainability and Resilience Dr. Kendra Abkowitz.
With no solid waste landfill in Davidson County and landfills in adjacent counties nearing capacity, Council Members have a renewed urgency to implement strategies included in the Zero Waste Master Plan. The plan was developed by CDM Smith in partnership with multiple Metro agencies and community organizations and adopted by the Solid Waste Region Board on September 16, 2019.
Tracey Thurman, recently hired as director of the newly formed Metro Division of Waste Services, provided an update on her work at the subcommittee’s first meeting on Monday, December 16. Following the meeting, Vice Mayor Henderson shared, “I was impressed with Director Thurman’s report, and look forward to her leadership. With this subcommittee, I want to make sure the Metro Council has the necessary structure for oversight of our city’s solid waste efforts, so we can focus on the legislation and budget priorities that will move Nashville closer to its zero waste goals. Accountability for associated funding and policy recommendations is necessary for the successful implementation of any master plan.”
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Sean Parker shared that in 2022, Metro separated the Public Works Department into the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multi-Modal Infrastructure (NDOT) and reassigned Waste Services to the Metro Water Services Department. “As the administration continues the process of establishing a separate Waste Services Department, the subcommittee will serve critical functions of oversight, coordination, and engagement with constituents across Nashville,” said Parker.
Concluded Allen, “the first priority for solid waste in Nashville is always to ensure the reliable pick-up of waste, but a close second is to reduce our reliance on landfills through waste reduction and increased recycling and composting. Getting ahead of our waste reduction and disposal options before we run out of landfill space is critical. We have great programs and pilots that can be scaled up for the whole county, and this subcommittee can elevate and sustain these priorities for the Council and the Nashville community.”