State Revenue, Funding and Grants

A state fund through which most of the statewide programs are financed is the solid waste management fund.  It is funded in part through a state surcharge of 90 cents on each ton of municipal solid waste received at all facilities or incinerators.  T.C.A. § 68-211-835.  Additionally, the state solid waste management fund receives revenue from a pre-disposal fee of $1.35 per tire collected by dealers upon the sale of a each new tire in this state (beginning July 1, 2014 counties can choose to receive $1.00 of this fee directly from the department of revenue if they choose not to enter into tire grant contracts with TDEC).  Counties, municipalities, and solid waste authorities may be able to receive grants from the fund for such activities as planning assistance (T.C.A. § 68-211-823), programs to establish or upgrade statutorily-required convenience centers (T.C.A. § 68-211-824), recycling (T.C.A. § 68-211-825), education (T.C.A. § 68-211-847), and waste tire collection and disposal (T.C.A. § 68-211-867).  Additionally, the Department of Environment and Conservation, from available funds in the solid waste management fund, may directly or through contract, investigate and clean-up unpermitted waste tire disposal sites.  T.C.A. § 68-211-831.

In 2015 the General Assembly enacted the Tire Environmental Act to establish a fee on each purchase of a new motor vehicle. The fee is administered by TDEC and is intended to be used for tire environmental programs, including local grants, subsidies or loans. This fee does not impact the existing pre-disposal fee on the sale of tires for which counties receive $1 per tire for the processing of waste tires.