PUTNAM COUNTY SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT
RECYCLING PROGRAM  

Trash Management

The Putnam County Solid Waste Department is responsible for trash management in our county. 
They are not a service organization -- they operate as a business to generate a profit for our county.
Funds raised by the department pay for salaries, trucks for transporting trash, purchasing and
maintaining waste collection and landfill sites, and other expenses generated by dealing with trash. 
Whatever profit is generated goes into Putnam County funds, to be disbursed by the County
Commission Department.

The Putnam County Solid Waste Department manages the trash from throughout our county in
various ways.  The City of Cookeville provides curb-side pick-up for household trash within city limits
and charges a monthly fee, collected through the utilities department.  The City delivers the trash
directly to the Solid Waste Department to be transferred to landfills. 

The Putnam County Solid Waste Department provides trash containers at nine different locations
throughout the community so those who don’t have access to curbside pickup in the city can
deliver their own trash to locations which are serviced by the Solid Waste Department.  They run
regular routes, picking up trash from these locations, and transport it to the main solid waste
location on Jefferson Avenue. 

Recycling

In addition to trash pick-up and drop-off locations, recycling sites are set up in conjunction with the
trash receptacles.  The recycling is picked up from the designated recycling sites and taken to the
main solid waste location on Jefferson Avenue.  The recycling is then sorted, packed, and sold to
vendors.  Vendors purchase the bulk recycling material to transform the recycling into something
manufacturers will purchase to use to manufacture new products.  These products will again be sold
to the consumer in a variety of forms.

Each county has its own recycling program managed by the county’s Solid Waste Department. 
The county benefits financially from recycling by selling it to vendors either in this state or another
State.  The recycling program is set up so when there is a demand for the recycled material such
as aluminum or cardboard, the county is able to sort, pack, and ship to vendors.  Sometimes when
recycling is not in demand, or the price is too low to justify sorting, packing, and shipping, some
goods that could be recycled are taken to the landfill instead. 

Every county throughout Tennessee manages their own trash and recycling, with the exception of
hazardous waste, which is subsidized by the State of Tennessee.  Each county has its own landfill,
managed by the County’s Solid Waste Department. 

Plastics - The only plastics that are recycled in Putnam County are plastics #1 and #2.  This
includes plastic beverage containers, and jugs with necks, such as plastic milk containers.  To
recycle them, the containers must be clean.  Oil bottles or bottles containing pesticides, although
recyclable plastic, are often taken to the landfill rather than recycled because they contain semi-
hazardous waste that the plastic has absorbed which will taint other clean recyclables.  Although

plastic grocery bags have the #2 printed on them, these can only be recycled by taking them to
the grocery or department stores where they were originally used, such as the lobby of Wal-Mart or 
Kroger.
 

Many plastics have the recycle symbol, but have numbers other than 1 or 2 on them.  These can-
not be recycled in Putnam County.  These plastics are sorted from the #1 and #2 plastic, and then
discarded in the landfill.  Frequently residents put all kinds of plastic into the bins, causing the bins
to overflow and blow unsightly plastic throughout the community.  Please sort your plastics before
going to recycle, making sure that you only take plastic #1 or #2.

Glass - Putnam County Solid Waste department has bins for recycling three colors of glass -- clear,
brown, and green.  Glass should be rinsed and clean with corks or tops removed.  Glass only
should go into the bin.

Aluminum & Steel Cans - Putnam County Solid Waste Department recycles aluminum cans and
steel cans.  Cans must be clean, or they will be sorted out of the recycling and discarded.  100%
of aluminum can be recycled without waste, so it is one of the very important things to always
recycle.  Recycling existing aluminum is much less toxic to the environment than manufacturing
aluminum..

Cardboard - Corrugated cardboard is currently the most in-demand recycling material.  Prices are
higher than they have been in a long time.  To recycle cardboard, please flatten boxes and put into
cardboard dumpsters.  One of the most important things we can recycle is our cardboard because
demand is high from vendors, and it can easily be transported and transformed into usable products. 

Cardboard containers such as cereal boxes, pizza boxes, and other cardboard packaging can be
recycled and should be placed in the cardboard dumpsters, although dumpsters are labeled
corrugated cardboard. 

Paper - Please recycle all of your office paper.  This paper is picked up by the Putnam County
Solid Waste Department directly at your place of business or home.  They do the pickup every two
weeks so please call them and get on their route.  Their number is 528-3884.

E-Waste - E-Waste means electronics that can no longer be used.  Anything that plugs in can be
recycled.  Although the Clean Commission has e-waste days a couple of days out of the year, the
Solid Waste Department takes electronics 6 days a week from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Paint - Paint is no longer accepted at the Hazardous Waste collection event.  Paint can be
recycled throughout the year at Dacco Convenience Center on Tuesdays
and Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.  - 6:30 p.m.  This Center is located at 3000 Dacco Quarry Road,
Cookeville, TN off of Hwy. 70.  Small amounts of latex paint can be dried by removing the top and
then discarded in the regular household trash.

Appliances - The Solid Waste Department disposes of appliances.  Most can be recycled for the
metal.  Any time you wish to dispose of an appliance, make sure that the freon has been removed
from air conditioners or refrigerators.  The freon cannot be properly disposed of at the Solid Waste
Department and should not be taken there.

Recycling Tips

Many citizens in Putnam County wish to recycle and keep trash out of the landfills.  Here are a few

suggestions to help you lower your trash load:  Take plastic bags from the grocery or department

stores back to the grocery store and deposit at the receptacle in the front of the store.  Or, better
yet, take your own bags from home and don’t use the plastic ones from the grocery store at all. 
Use stored bags as packing material.

Another suggestion for lowering your trash load is to purchase in bulk.  Rather than purchasing
small, portion sized snacks, buy a larger container and sort into smaller portions using reusable
containers, such as tupperware, or glass jars.  This will create less trash from the packing
materials. 

Many residents are composting their food scraps in their own yards rather than putting them into
the garbage.  The food scraps degrade over time leaving fresh dirt full of nutrients for planting flowers
or vegetables.  There are many books about composting and information on the internet if you
would like to eliminate most of your food scraps from the landfill.

Toner or ink cartridges can be recycled at stores that sell them, such as Staples or Office Max. 
Although many batteries can be thrown away now, Radio Shack still recycles batteries that cannot
be put into a landfill.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs can be recycled at Lowe's on Neal St., Cookeville.

Everything that you purchase ends up as garbage, unless it becomes a keepsake, heirloom or it is
recycled.  By reducing your purchases, and by reusing what you can, you eliminate a lot of what
could end up in a landfill.  Purchase wisely, recycle when you can.  We must all take responsibility
for helping our Solid Waste Department manage our trash.

NOTICE:  Thank you for recycling.  PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR RECYCLING IS CLEAN,
RINSED AND FREE OF OIL BEFORE TAKING TO THE CONVENIENCE CENTER.  Remove soiled
portion of pizza boxes.  Rinse oil and soaps from plastic bottles.  Dirty recyclables can contaminate an entire
batch of recycling and occasionally ruin equipment.   Help keep recyclables out of the landfill by

making sure yours is clean!