Key Takeaways
• Tennessee’s proposed EPR bill is unusual because it includes opt-outs for small businesses (under $10 million in revenue) and smaller counties, making it a more “business-friendly” version than other states’ sweeping laws.
• Supporters argue the bill could help address Tennessee’s looming landfill capacity crisis by shifting recycling and waste management funding onto major brands while boosting recycling, jobs and infrastructure without taxpayer cost.
More states are implementing extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation for print and packaging products. Tennessee’s proposed EPR bill, though, stands out.
Other states, such as California, Maine, Minnesota and Washington, have sweeping EPR laws either in place or on the way that will rest the financial burden of a product’s entire lifespan on the producer – i.e., whoever brings it to the market. The proposed EPR bill in Tennessee would have loopholes for businesses that make less than $10 million in annual revenue, as well as counties with fewer than 200,000 residents, to opt out.
These opt-outs weren’t part of the original legislation proposed in 2024, but were added in an effort to appeal to Republican officials in Tennessee who might look for more “business-friendly” solutions and value local control, Tennessee Sen. Heidi Campbell told Waste Dive.
The bill would still require large companies and more populous counties to participate in order to raise funding for local recycling services and environmental infrastructure, as is the case in California, and local governments would be reimbursed for the money they spend on waste management. Essentially, Tennessee’s version of the legislation is meant to generate funds from companies bringing products into the Tennessee marketplace, rather than the ones producing them there.
“It helps us really focus on the major international brands that are already part of [other producer responsibility organizations] and are already doing EPR in 30% of the world,” Sen. Campbell said.
Tennessee’s growing population is making waste management difficult, though. Jeremy Hooper, an advisor for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, told Waste Dive that landfills in the state are reaching capacity, especially in the middle of the state, where the state capital and population center of Nashville is located.
“Tennessee is currently burying tons of valuable materials in landfills with a million tons of recyclable packaging – worth an estimated $150 million to $300 million annually – being wasted each year,” the TN Waste to Jobs website reads. “The state only recycles about 12% of its waste, ranking 48th in the nation.”
TN Waste to Jobs is framing the legislation as something with no cost to taxpayers, but potential to create jobs, ease the state’s environmental and waste management issues, and reduce reliance on foreign materials to protect local jobs and industries.
The process is ongoing, as any EPR legislation will need dedicated needs assessments and advisory boards to oversee implementation and recycling organizations, as well as performance goal analysis and beyond.
And despite the concessions to the Republican majority in Tennessee, lawmakers like Campbell say that passing this bill is no layup. Look at California’s recent setbacks. But Campbell hopes that the looming environmental and waste management problems in Tennessee galvanize even those who might be skeptical about new legislation with new costs for businesses and local governments.
“Even in blue states, we saw that it took several years to build the support that they needed to get an EPR bill across the finish line,” Campbell told Waste Dive. “With the nightmare that we’re starting to see coming down the pike in Tennessee with landfill capacity, it will hopefully become more and more apparent to people that EPR is a solution that could actually make a difference.”
