Murfreesboro is in the midst of a compounding trash problem, and it’s no secret that Middle Point Landfill is nearing capacity. The soon-to-be increasing fee that city residents have witnessed on their water bill over the past six months has brought to light what years of free service never did. We’re finally starting to talk trash.
While there has been an increase of trash talk in the community about the growing problems we’re facing, some solutions only seem to create more problems. During a recent local gathering, the idea was proposed that the community members should step in where the government has stagnated. While this American ideal has clout and merit, continuing efforts are necessary, as some ideas discussed in the meeting were met with inevitable resistance.
Seema Prasad, a Nashville restaurant proprietor and one of the meeting’s speakers, was in attendance promoting an idea for recycling using an anaerobic digester, which is basically a responsible way to address the organic portion of our landfill waste; think food scraps and compost materials. While Prasad’s presentation was compelling, it left a bitter taste in the mouths of some at the meeting. She did an excellent job outlining the benefits of the digester system while expressing her conscientious intentions, but the bottom line was a price tag to be passed on to the city residents, the same contributors who would be providing the commodity. Being the host community would provide a discounted rate to the residents of Rutherford County, but that still seemed to float somewhere around $25-$50/month. If citizens are upset about an extra $7/month charge for trash disposal, you can see why the proposal fell somewhat short of expectations. Nonetheless, it makes sense from the perspective of waste and recycling to consider this option. Prasad hopes to get the community on board through awareness and education.
Pam Furlong, manager of the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Murfreesboro, offered ideas that fared better. She proposed that her clients are in need of work and are willing to do the work that others won’t. Last month I reported that cross-contamination redirects a staggering number of recyclable commodities to the landfill, for something as simple and easily avoidable as the recyclable being enclosed within a plastic bag. The cost to separate the recyclable commodity from the bag exceeds the amount it costs to haul the recyclable to the landfill, and so to the landfill it goes. However, if there is an untapped community of workers who would be willing to separate those commodities for minimum wage, it seems like a solution worth exploring.
Steve Baughman, self-made businessman and the coordinator of the meeting, has his own stake in the game. Many years ago, his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Years later, he made the connection between her illness and environmental contributing factors. He knows firsthand the devastation that irresponsible actions can cause. Being a concerned citizen, Baughman essentially has begun a public call for conscientious citizens who are willing to address these problems. He intends to create a coalition he wants to dub the Waste Alliance. Ultimately, his vision is to prevent the hardships his own family and others like him have had to endure on account of bureaucratic negligence and a lack of education.
Dr. Jeremy Aber introduced himself as a volunteer representing the non-partisan, non-profit Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM). Aber is a chair member for the Rutherford County chapter. One of the things the organization has focused on is the solid waste problems that the county is facing and will continue to face as the landfill approaches capacity.
“We’re really committed to advocating for zero-waste policies in our community,” he said. “In a nutshell, the idea of zero waste is that we are going to lean very heavily on things like composting and recycling in order to reduce our solid waste stream as much as possible, with the understanding that we will always have a certain amount of waste left over . . . you can’t recycle everything.”
Aber stressed that this is a reasonable expectation of modern-day citizens.
Dan Jameson, vice president of government and regulatory affairs, and Jeremy Jernigan, Middle Point Landfill manager, were also on hand representing Republic Services. Jameson jumped right in and admitted that things weren’t always handled appropriately.
“But, I think you’ll see through Jeremy’s efforts, the things that we’ve been doing, we are here to do the right thing,” Jameson said. Furthermore, he added that his company has essentially grown and moved in a more conscientious direction as time has progressed. While the relationship between the landfill and the community has had its challenges, Jameson admitted the problems our community faces head-on and sounded interested in realistic solutions. Having Republic Services on-board with this effort could prove to be a vital component of its success.
The overall mood of the meeting was a mixture between financial apprehension and moral obligation. While many people attended the meeting, from local residents to government officials, and many different directions were explored, continued efforts will be coordinated as a general consensus is sought. Ultimately, the community has taken steps toward becoming more self-sufficient.
There is a quote I’ve heard paraphrased many different ways that essentially advises a willing participant to focus on the solution rather than the problem. In accord with this, I’ve witnessed a large number of concerned citizens who are frustrated by red tape, who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do some work to benefit our community. This is the recipe for great beginnings.
Additionally, I’ve met a large number of members of our community in the various endeavors I’ve committed to over the years, both on a professional and personal level. The level of entrepreneurialism, intelligence and creativity I’ve encountered is astounding. It seems to me that we can continue congregating as a community and can think tank our way to viable solutions that alleviate the problems we’re facing.
I earnestly urge residents to take part in this collective effort. You can reach out to Steve Baughman by email at stevebaughman@comcast.net for more information on future meetings and locations.
