Press Release after 2026 Session
Now that the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act (TWTJ) is officially off the calendar this session, we all need to focus on the historic momentum building behind EPR in TN. For the first time in three years, the bill moved out of the Senate Government Operations Committee with a Republican sponsor and four other GOP co-sponsors. Tennessee Waste to Jobs also picked up a Republican sponsor in the House and two other co-sponsors. This is the furthest an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill has ever made it in a Red State and with continued work and support, Tennessee is poised to pass and become the national model for responsible EPR legislation.
Over the past year, our TWTJ coalition secured letters of support from Democratic and Republican mayors, solid waste directors, city and county governments, and global brands wanting to recapture and reuse valuable materials currently being buried in landfills. With growing support from communities impacted by landfills, elected officials who represent those communities and multinational brands that want the materials, support for EPR in Tennessee continues to strengthen as opposition arguments continue to weaken.
While the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act would create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in nontaxpayer funded recycling infrastructure, opponents advocate taking away local decision-making authority, expanding and deepening landfills and forcing taxpayers to cover 100% of the cost of recycling through higher tipping taxes. Today, Tennesseans pay the highest tipping taxes in the Southeast and rank 48th in the nation for recycling, clearly that model hasn't worked and doesn't work. Under the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act, large global brands that generate the waste and seek to recover the materials share responsibility for paying for the necessary infrastructure. It's a win for taxpayers, a win for industry and a win for protecting public health and safety across Tennessee. A true Win-Win-Win.
We look forward to continuing our collaboration with stakeholders, local and state officials, solid waste directors, and Tennesseans to strengthen solutions that foster the circular economy we want to see in Tennessee! Want to help us pass EPR? Subscribe to our growing base at www.tnwastetojobs.com and send a direct message to linda@tnwastetojobs.com for more info on joining our coalition!
This is the 2026 current bill posture.
Key changes and elements to the bill are the following:
The business global revenue exclusion changed from $2M to $10M
After receiving feedback from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, the cap is now $10M, which exempts all small businesses as defined by the state of Tennessee (any business with annual revenue less than $10M). As such, 99.5% of businesses will be exempt.
Restaurants, food carts, or similar businesses are excluded from the Producer definition
Specific language has been added to the producer definition to exclude restaurants, food carts, and similar businesses.
The fiscal note has been eliminated as the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) reimbursement is paid back within the first year
The bill is now net neutral as the organizational costs for establishing the PRO are required to be paid back within the first year, thus eliminating the requirement for the state to record it as a cost. (This has been verified with the fiscal review department.)
1-ton exemption
In addition to the $10M cap, there is a 1-ton exemption for any business generating less than 1-ton of packaging material on an annual basis.