Greenwaste is defined as any material generated from lawn maintenance, landscaping or land clearing activities. It can include leaves, limbs, tree trunks, grass clippings, brush and weeds. It can also include other clean wood material such as pallets, framing lumber and plywood. In total, this material can account for 20%-30% of a community's entire waste stream. This material can easily be recycled and processed into beneficial, marketable products. In an effort to conserve valuable landfill space, and to minimize the significant cost associated with solid waste disposal, Knox County has joined with hundreds of other municipalities in separating and removing greenwaste from its solid waste stream.
Knox County has two municipal greenwaste recycling facilities. One is located in the Solway community at 8707 Joe Daniel Road, just off Oak Ridge Highway, two blocks east of Pellissippi Parkway. The other is located in the Forks of the River Industrial Park at 3106 Water Plant Road, just off National Drive. These facilities are operated under contract by Natural Resources Recovery of Tennessee, LLC, a local company specializing in organics recycling. Both facilities accept residential and commercial wood waste and yard waste.
There is also a residential yardwaste drop off site co-located with the Halls Solid Waste and Recycling Convenience Center located on Neal Road.
These facilities accept all types of yardwaste, including leaves, limbs, logs, branches, brush, grass clippings, shrubs, and even whole trees. They also accept clean, unpainted, unstained, or otherwise untreated lumber like pallets and crating lumber, framing wood, and plywood. These materials are processed and recycled into mulch, compost, and other soil amendment products. The fee schedule for material drop off includes residential flat rates and per-ton costs for larger volume disposal.
Hours of operation for the Solway facility are: Monday through Saturday, 8 AM-4:30 PM. Hours of operation for the Forks of the River facility are: Monday through Friday, 8 AM-4:30 PM; Saturday, 7 AM-3 PM.
For more information, or answers to specific questions, contact the Solway location at 865-927-7646, or the Forks of the River location at 865-546-0584. Information is available on the web at: NaturalResourcesRecovery.com
Households that generate small amounts of yardwaste (i.e.- a few bags of leaves or grass clippings, material generated from occasional pruning and weeding activities, etc.) should consider backyard composting as a disposal alternative. With little effort, these materials can be combined with other household wastes, such as certain food wastes and shredded junk mail, and processed into finished compost for use around the home.
