Central Magnet student says pilot recycling program diverted more than 3,500 pounds

Aiden Strickland, a senior at Central Magnet, told the Rutherford County Public Works & Planning Committee on May 13 that a student-led single-stream recycling pilot at his school diverted more than 3,500 pounds of cardboard, paper, plastics and metal away from the landfill this school year. "Over the course of this year, I can say that over 3,500 pounds of recyclable waste has been diverted away from the landfill," Strickland said.

Strickland said the pilot supplied a small blue recycling bin to each classroom, consolidated classroom material into six 96-gallon collection bins, and relied on a student team to empty those containers two to three times per week into campus recycling dumpsters, which county trucks then hauled to a recycling facility in Nashville. He said the program used waste-department truck weight data and counts of full 96-gallon bins to track results.

Committee members asked how students were recruited and how contamination was controlled. Strickland said staff and student engagement—videos on morning announcements, posters, and use of a senior engineering practicum—helped drive participation. He said custodial staff sometimes handled recycling previously, and the pilot aimed to shift most of the operational load to students to avoid adding work for custodians.

Planning and engineering staff and Solid Waste Director Matt Davis praised the pilot. Davis told the committee that if similar programs ran in all 15 county high schools, the county could divert an estimated 52,500 pounds (about 26 tons), based on Strickland's measured yield at Central Magnet. "Impressive young man," Davis said.

The committee commended Strickland and discussed next steps for supporting school outreach and sustainability of the program; Strickland said a rising senior will continue the project after his graduation. No formal county action was taken; the presentation and committee discussion were for information and potential future coordination with the county waste department.

Observers should note the figures reported—3,500 pounds at Central Magnet and the county extrapolation—were presented by the student and county staff and were not independently verified during the meeting.