Solid Waste & Wastewater: 4% of Community Emissions.png "Waste Emissions 2019")
Knoxville’s waste stream makes up approximately 4% of all community emissions. Most waste emissions come from the breakdown of organic materials (such as paper products, food waste, and yard waste) in our wastewater treatment process and our solid waste stream.
Overall reduction in waste is the best way to reduce emissions, but ensuring we also have robust solutions to divert organic waste through programs like recycling and composting are essential to minimizing high-impact methane emissions. Reducing waste also helps us save energy, money, and natural resources.
City Focus Areas
Working with Knox County and other community partners, the City has strengthened its waste management practices. The City has worked to reduce the amount of methane-emitting organic items in our waste stream by adopting backyard composting standards, expanding recycling services, and engaging businesses to reduce solid waste.
City successes include:
• 10+ years of
curbside recycling service, with over 30,000 subscribers
• Maintaining
five public recycling centers and
Solid Waste Facility
• Year-round
yard waste collection
Community Priorities
The Mayor’s Climate Council ranked waste strategies for their potential to directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their community benefits.
| Mayor's Climate Council - Priority Waste Strategies |
| Strategy |
Rankings* |
| Pursue food waste reduction and collection programs that capture ~80%+ of organic waste from all high-volume locations (eg. restaurants) |
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| Increase residential recycling through community engagement and education strategies |
 |
| Promote consumption-reduction approaches such as sharing and re-use through education campaigns |
 |
| Research pathways to offer organics (food/yard waste) collection for single-family and multi-family residential properties |
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| |
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Resources
• City Waste & Resources Management – manages curbside recycling and waste pickup, yard waste collection, drop-off facilities, and more
• Knox County Solid Waste
• City Composting Guide
• Knoxville Citizen’s Guide to Sustainability: Waste Reduction
• City Green Purchasing Guide
• UTK Zero-Waste Event Planning Guide
• Keep Knoxville Beautiful