Where does Shelby County’s waste go? An $850,000 study aims to find out
The Memphis Area Climate Action Plan calls on the waste sector to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% over the next decade. (The Daily Memphian file)
For the first time since the 1990s, Shelby County is figuring out exactly where its solid waste goes.
A $142,000 federal grant — in addition to a $250,000 grant from the state and $200,000 from both the city and county — will help the county study the local waste stream from creation to disposal following a Shelby County Board of Commissioners vote on Monday, Feb. 26.
Over two seasons, a consultant will determine how much waste is landfilled versus recycled and will help the county come up with a long-term plan to meet its zero-waste goals.
If they know where waste comes from and where it ends up, they can send less of it to Shelby County’s five landfills and meet local climate goals, John Zeanah, director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, told the County Commission on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
The Memphis Area Climate Action Plan calls on the waste sector to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% over the next decade. To hit that goal, the county needs to slash the amount of waste heading to its landfills.
The waste sector emits fewer greenhouse gases locally than some other sectors, such as transportation and energy, but it has the most ambitious emissions targets over the next decade.
“We can reduce waste,” Zeanah told the commission. “We can reduce the impact of waste on our communities.”
There are five landfills in Shelby County. Four of them are located in low-income and disadvantaged communities, according to a federal screening tool, and these communities are more susceptible to asthma and lower life expectancy.
“While we cannot change the existing locations of landfills,” the county said in its grant application, “waste reduction and diversion are ways to minimize future impacts on these communities and protect additional communities from being impacted by construction of new landfills.”
The study is meant to be completed by year-end, but Zeanah said they’ll likely request an extension.
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Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development John Zeanah landfill Shelby County Board of Commissioners Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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Keely Brewer
Keely Brewer is a Report for America corps member covering environmental impacts on communities of color in Memphis. She is working in partnership with the Ag & Water Desk, a sustainable reporting network aimed at telling water and agriculture stories across the Mississippi River Basin.
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