Tennessee Waste Reduction & Recycling Act (TWRRA)

What does TWRRA do?

Watch this 3-minute presentation.

Making the case for responsibly-structured Extended Producer Responsibility in Tennessee

Endorsed by major producer brands

Hear what the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance says about TWRRA.

TN. Senate Energy/Ag/Natural Resources Committee Testimony

Sustainable Food Policy Alliance (SFPA) Support Letter

Tennessee has a packaging waste problem.

In Tenneesse, 88% of recyclable packaging ends up in our landfills - which are running out of space.

Source: 50 States of Recycling Report (by Eunomia and Ball Corporation)

Only 47% of Tennesseeans have access to recycling.

The major barrier to recycling in Tennessee - is (a lack of) funding.

TWRRA uses EPR to sustainably fund recycling, for 100% of Tennessee residents.

TWRRA transfers the cost of recycling from taxpayers and municipalities to the companies producing packaging waste, through a system called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

EPR incentivizes producers to:

Reduce their overall packaging volume.
Use recycled materials in their packaging.
Ensure their products are recyclable.

(Note: small producers < $10M are exempt)

TWRRA turns Tennessee trash to cash.

900,000 tons

**Total recyclable packaging currently sent to landfills every year in TN**

TWRRA will bring thousands of new jobs and economic development to Tennessee, by investing in our recycling infrastructure to collect, process, and recycle more recyclables - helping our businesses get more of the valuable recycled content they need.