Grant to Expand Curbside Recycling Collection in Nashville, Tenn.

A combined $2.8 million grant from The Recycling Partnership and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), with special support from beauty brand Love Beauty and Planet, will more than double the frequency of recycling collection in Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., to every other week from once a month.

The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (Metro Nashville) will use the grant to buy 16 collection vehicles and provide 8,000 additional recycling carts to households, allowing them to access curbside recycling services.

"The grant to Metro Nashville is a powerful example of how partnership can drive real change," said Rob Taylor, director of grants and community development at The Recycling Partnership, in a statement. "TDEC's support combined with donations from our funding partners, especially Love Beauty and Planet, make this work possible. Increasing collection frequency and growing access to recycling service while providing education to residents is a comprehensive model for recycling success."

The Recycling Partnership also will provide funding and expert technical assistance to Metro Nashville to implement a jurisdiction-wide education and outreach campaign to support its curbside recycling program.

The recycling improvement program will affect more than 139,000 Metro Nashville households and is expected to be fully implemented by early 2020.

"TDEC is pleased to be able to offer this funding to Nashville to support its waste reduction goals," said Greg Young, TDEC deputy commissioner, in a statement. "This will impact a large amount of Tennesseans and, ultimately, the broader region as we look to support reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills across the state."

"This funding from the Partnership and TDEC enables us to positively impact a massive amount of Davidson County residents," said Mark Sturtevant, Metro Nashville Public Works director, in a statement. "We've been waiting a long time to go from monthly to every-other-week collection. Public Works is thrilled to finally be able to improve our recycling program and collect more quality recyclables at the curb."