The city of Memphis began its progressive plans and responsible approach towards recycling and efficient waste management in early 1980's. It started with the city's program of developing the sludge holding lagoons into a bird sanctuary and wildlife preserve. The "the earth complex" logo which is found on everything that has to do with recycling and waste management programs of the city Government came from this innovative project.
Today the Earth Complex is much more than just a logo. The earth Complex program runs various services including household waste disposal, recycling, compost, sod farm and also the pumpkin field classroom for kids where they learn importance of recycling and how to do it.
The recycling and waste management services for the Memphis city and surrounding neighborhoods are provided by the city of Memphis and Shelby county governments. Here is a brief guide to recycling in and around city of Memphis for prospective residents.
Recycling Household Waste
You can go online or call (901) 576-6851 to request a recycling bin. It will be picked up by the waste collection center that serves your area on designated days of pickup. The household waste and the recyclable items should always be stored in separate containers. Never put any household and perishable items in the recycle bin. It should only contain recyclable products such as paper, card board boxes, aluminum cans, and plastic containers.
Recycling Yard Waste
The city of Memphis also provides residents with yard waste recycling services. Residents can place the grass clippings, leaves, and small twigs and tree branches in the specially designed yard waste bags which are easily available at many home improvement and grocery stores. The city's waste management services will collect these yard waste to recycle it for the better.
The innovative approach to recycle the household and all of the city's yard waste into compost and mulch is becoming an ideal example for all the cities around the world. The compost and mulch is then sold to landscaping contractors. Many times the mulch is available for local residents for free.
Recycling Appliances and Large items
The city of Memphis provides free of charge recycling for household appliances such as refrigerators, washers, driers and many more like these. Also bulky items like furniture and such are also picked up by the city at your request. They say that calling ahead is not required but it is probably a good idea to call ahead and make sure the item is acceptable and the time line for the pick up.
Recycling Tires
You can place the tires along the curb side to be picked up by the city. At any given time one residence is allowed to recycle up to 4 tires. Only up to a certain size tires are acceptable and some times it can take a while for the city to make proper arrangements to recycle tires so call for more details and to make request for collection at 576-6851 Ext. 1.
Recycling Drop off Centers
There are 5 recycling centers available for Memphis area residents. They are not serviced by the city's waste management services. Many of the items that acceptable at curb side pick up are also accepted at these centers including the large appliances, furniture, aluminum, paper, and plastic materials.
These centers are:
1. Downtown Memphis - located at Mud Island Park
2. Mid Town - Located at First Congressional Church
3. South East Located at Hickory Hill Community center
4. East Memphis Located at Moore Ed, Just south off the Shelby Showplace arena
5. FCR - 3197 Farrisview Blvd. operated by FCR of Tennessee
Learning about Recycling
In today's world where fears of global warming are becoming a reality, there is never a better time to teach our young generation to use our natural resources efficiently and sparingly. The Learning Bin Recycling curriculum does just that. This program teaches the kids from kindergarten to 5th grade about our environment, recycling and effective waste management to practice at their own home and community.
Re-Pete is the name of the cartoon character designed to teach and guide the school kids through this curriculum which is becoming very popular among the children for its good recycling and waste management habits. Well, what we can say except Good Luck Re-Pete.
The City of Memphis is becoming an ideal example for cities around the world for it wonderful, innovative and cost effective approach towards efficient waste management and recycling. It more important now than ever to use these conservative habits to protect our environment and help mother earth keep its balance for our own good. So if you are a resident of Memphis take advantage of these great services and be proud of the great work you and your city is doing for our world.