Measuring the impact of Middle Tennessee’s trash problems

Nashville is locked in a contract dispute with Red River Waste Solutions, the private company the city hired for trash and recycling pickup. Things got so bad that the city stopped picking up recyclables altogether late last year. Recycling collection has started up again, but Red River is still in bankruptcy and the city’s garbage is piling up. All this refuse raises questions. Where does our junk go? Are we running out of space to dump it? Garbage collection on the one hand, and landfill space on the other, are just two elements of a larger issue: environmental justice. State senator Brenda Gillmore has said, “There’s a clear pattern of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of landfills. Minorities and low income communities are seen as the path of least resistance.” Also in this episode, WPLN reporter Juliana Kim reflects on the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, and the ripple effect on Nashville’s Asian American community. Guests: Juliana Kim, WPLN reporter Rainey Heflin, Glenview resident Mac Nolen, director of Williamson County’s Solid Waste Management Jaffee Judah, president of Recycle Reinvest Melvin Black, former Metro council member from Bordeaux