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Nashville Recycling


Recycling in Nashville

How to Recycle Your Food and Yard Waste by Composting

What is composting? Composting is nature's way of recycling food and yard waste. It is a process that naturally occurs when organic materials are returned to the soil through decomposition

Some benefits of composting include recycling your waste and being able to use that waste as a fertilizer!

When it's time to fertilize new plants, use compost! Instead of using store bought fertilizer you should start recycling food waste by composting and using the rich properties of the recycled food to fertilize the soil.“It‘s usually marked as such, but if not, look for a high middle number on the fertilizer packs.  ‘N-P-K’ stands for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; these are three primary nutrients for healthy plant growth.  Phosphorus, particularly, helps promote healthy root growth.”

Foods high in potassium and phosphorus - apples, apricots, bananas, brazil nuts, brown rice, cantaloupe, figs, honeydew, kiwi, legumes, lima beans, milk, oranges, orange juice, peaches, potatoes, prunes, raisins, roasted peanuts with skin, spinach, squash, vegetable juices, wheat bread, white rice, winter squash., tomatoes, avocados, potato, celery, carrots, broccoli, watermelon, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, corn, dates, green beans, green peppers, lettuce, kidney beans, onions, papayas, parsley, pumpkin, peas, romaine lettuce, strawberries, sweet potato. Note that potassium is found in the skin of many vegetables

Foods high in nitrogen are generally meat products. Due to the foul odor that they produce in the warm months of the year you may want to add some nitrogen rich soil in lieu of adding animal products to your compost. Eggs being an eggception. ;)      


So remember, the moisture and rich nutrients that compost cultivates takes away any stress of keeping a garden and adds to the livelihood of your harvest. Not to mention you are recycling. Compost is a great way to enrich your soil and give vitality to the plants you are about to see grow and be fruitful.                                           

Go here for more information on Nashville recycling and for here for more information on Nashville composting. 

Recycle Your Electronics in Bellevue This Weekend for Clean-Up Day

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Spring Bellevue Clean-Up takes place today from 8am to noon today at the Bellevue Middle School. Come out and shred old documents, recycle old appliances and electronics, and even use the emissions testing equipment. Metro Public Works have bins available for collecting all your electronics to be recycled.

Can't make it out today? Call Nashville recycling service, Earthsavers, who will come to your home and pick up all your electronics for appropriate recycling. Don't just throw those electronics away, there are hazardous materials inside that can damage our local landfills and possibly our drinking water! Plus recycling electronics allows companies to reuse parts so they don't have to make them from scratch - (leading to even more waste)! So please, always recycle your electronic devices.

ReTune Nashville - Recycling Damaged Instruments Into Art

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ReTune Nashville is ready to reappear!

On May 3, 2011 ReTune Nashville will host the 1st anniversary event at Soundcheck Nashville.

Due to the great turn out and funds raised last year, ReTune Nashville decided to host the event again. Born out of the flood crisis of 2010 here in Nashville, the founders wanted to create an event to showcase the amazing art work of local artists fusing together damaged musical instruments and equipment with their own artistic flair to produce pieces for auction. ReTune Nashville’s October 2010 Benefit Concert and Art Auction Event raised more than $20,000 to help Nashville’s musicians. For this event, ReTune Nashville has collected donations of flood damaged instruments and turned them over to more than 60 visual artists. These are locally and nationally known artists who have volunteered their talent and time to transfer every damaged instrument from worthless to priceless.

The ReTune Nashville benefit concert and art auction will take place at Soundcheck, the massive storage and rehearsal studio complex that was caught in the cumberland overflow.

Much was lost and many fell victim to the flood damage of 2010. In recycling the loss of items and memories it only adds to the development of the Nashville community. Building a greener, greater Nashville. Instruments that belong to more than 600 Nashville musicians were used, including major artists such as Brad Paisely, Vince GIll and Keith Urban. This event helps prove that Nashville is proactive and giving city that cares about its community. This is the volunteer state and we stand by our people.

You will be able to view and bid on the art work created from these salvaged instruments online or in person. Advanced tickets are $35 or you can wait and pay $45 at the door. All proceeds will go to benefit uninsured musicians through MusiCares Nashville flood relief and the Nashville Musicians Association flood relief fund.

"We are all music city so lets come together for the good of everyone who lives here." Sheri O'neal- Founder of ReTune Nashville

One example of the art on sale is from Jimmy Copens, a local artist and musician bringing his two loves together in harmony for the benefit of others. By using an old dingy boat and the nautical theme, Jimmy fused music and the inner workings of the instrument by exposing wires and the essence of the instruments destruction. The piece captured it's real essence once Jimmy had turned it upside down and suspended it from the rafters.  This is only one of the many amazing art pieces at this years ReTune Nashville event.

Flood damaged instrument artwork that will be auctioned off that evening includes pieces from ADDY Award Winner Joel Anderson, Singer/Songwriter Steve Wariner, Performance Painter Rachel Kice, and popular metal artists Chris Beck and Brother Mel.

Get your tickets today for ReTune Nashville’s Anniversary Celebration Music and Art Event on Tuesday May 3, 2011 at Soundcheck.

Recycle in Nashville and Celebrate Earth Day Everyday!

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Earth Day is upon us and the green buzz is on the rise. Each time this year, countless people make a concerted effort to conserve energy, carpool and recycle. It's great to have the extra attention on this day but a greater impact would be had if it was happening every day.

On April 22, 1970, Earth Day marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated. Further encouragement and demonstration of these acts will only entice other events and cities to follow suit. Nashville takes pride in their recycling efforts and the Earth day event.

Earth day will be holding an event in Centennial Park to celebrate Earth Day and to promote awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. You don't have to wait for Earth Day though, you can start doing this by going green, your impact on the Earth and sustainable living methods will help protect the Earth's natural environment. 

Exhibitors are group together in areas of focus. Recycling is one of the focuses. Exhibitors for 2011:- Adventure Science Centre, Community Food Advocates, Creative Recycling, Delvin Farms, Eco- Gardens CSA, Fresh Harvest LLC, Green wagon, just to name a few.

Recycling is a huge component of the Earth Day way. Recycling has been happening through out most of human history but recycling everything in a productive Earth saving way has become more prominent the past 40 years. The next big investment in recycling occurred in the 1970s, due to rising energy costs. Recycling aluminium uses only 5 percent of the energy required by virgin production; glass, paper and metals have less dramatic but very significant energy savings when recycled feedstock is used. For a recycling program to work though, having a large, stable supply of recyclable material is crucial. Legislation has been used to increase and maintain a demand for recycled materials. Four methods of such legislation exist: minimum recycled content mandates, utilization rates, procurement policies, recycled product labeling.

In Nashville, collection of recyclables is done via curbside, drop off centers, buy back centers or the new trash receptacles that will be used at events such as Nashville Earth Day. Another way, much simpler way to recycle, is to use a Nashville recycling pick-up service such as Earthsavers. 

Implementing public bins such as these used in Toronto Canada and pictured here, would be a great pursuit and a fantastic approach to recycling in the future. A good Earth Day topic to discuss amongst friends and those keen to help the Earth's natural environment stay clean and safe.

There are many amazing  recycling opportunities at Earth Day Festival. This year you will be able to reduce, reuse and recycle some of your household goods. The Oasis Center will again be collecting bicycles.  Sound Forest will be collecting used bike helmets.  Soles4Souls will be collecting new and gently worn shoes for its shoe charity.  Get Green To Get Green will be collecting cell phones for reuse or recycling.  The Nashville Police Department will collect unwanted and unused medications for proper disposal.


Remember to bring your old shoes, cell phones, bikes, helmets and unsaid medicine to be recoiled.

See you there!

Why and How Should You Recycle Batteries?

Batteries are interesting little creations as they contain the energy that powers many of our devices. From AAA batteries powering our remotes, to car batteries that help us get moving every morning, these devices are an integral part of our lives. These devices aren't going away any time soon either. Their use is only going to increase as vehicles and even houses become more reliant on the energy storage properties of batteries.

But what happens when the power is all used up? Should we just toss spent batteries in the trash and send them "away?" 

In order to operate correctly, and until new technology makes them cleaner, batteries are going to contain some hazardous materials. The main danger from small consumer batteries is mercury. Before 1997, when Congress passed a law to phase out most mercury in batteries, battery suppliers used large amounts of mercury. These days, it is not as bad, although there are still some trace elements. Mercury can be very dangerous to the environment and can seep into the ground from batteries in land fills. 

Rechargeable cell phone and other electronic device materials can be even more hazardous! They can contain toxic heavy metals sealed up inside that can do serious damage to land fills and incinerators. This means they may end up in ground water or even airborne.

So throwing batteries "away" does not really send these dangerous materials away. It only places them somewhere else where their chemicals can end up in the air you breathe and water you drink!

The best way to dispose of your batteries is to recycle them. Some cities have programs in place that allow you to recycle your batteries either in the household recycle bins or by dropping them off at a recylcing location. Another option that is very easy is to call a commercial recycling agency that will come to your house and pick up all your hazardous materials to ensure they are disposed of properly (maybe even reused). In Tennessee, you can call Nashville recycling service Earthsavers who can dispose of all your recycling materials directly from your house!

So how are batteries recycled? Check out this video from HowStuffWorks on recycling batteries:

Upcoming changes to recycling in Nashville and Davidson County

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As Nashville and Davidson County begin to make changes to their recycling programs, you may be wondering how you can recycle in Nashville. Starting July 1, 2011 - No yard waste will be collected in recycling or regular waste collection. Do not place yard waste in trash containers or recycling bins! You should always compost your yard waste with your food scraps. For more information on composting, visit How To Compost.

Beginning July 1, 2013 - Cardboard will be banned from all waste collection. You will no longer be able to throw cardboard away with normal trash. This is a good thing as cardboard is very easy to recycle and should always be recycled! If you are having a problem with large amounts of cardboard, contact a Nashville cardboard recycling expert to come and pick up your cardboard directly from your home or business.

Beginning July 1, 2014 - Customers who have more than one trash cart will be charged a fee. If you are recycling and composting correctly, you should not be filling up more than one trash cart per collection cycle. 

Beginning July 1, 2015 - Electronic waste will no longer be accepted in normal waste containers or recycling bins. You must take electronic waste to Metro's Household Hazardous Waste facility. Your other option is to call an electronic recycling expert who will pick up your electronic waste directly from your home such as computer recycling or battery recycling.

If you don't have access to curbside recycling, you will have to take your recycling to drop-off site's located in various parts of Nashville. Some of these drop-off locations will not except glass but some of them will. Curbside recycling will NOT take glass containers so they can only be taken to drop-off locations if you are using curbside recycling. This does pose a problem of leaky bottles getting liquids into your car as you transport them to the drop-off location. A better option would be to contact a Nashville recycling service such as Earthsavers to pick up your glass and other recycling directly from your house.
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