Metro Public Works provides waste reduction education programs for the community. Below is a description of each program and a link to our registration form.
Recycling Programs
Curby's Recycling Roadshow (Student Program)
Curby's Recycling Roadshow is a 30-45 minute long interactive presentation for high school and college students on what it means to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Participants will learn how waste impacts the environment, what you can and cannot recycle in Nashville, and why it's important to recycle right.
Request the Curby Recycling Roadshow program.
Curby's Recycling Roadshow at the Recycling Center (Student Field Trip)
High School and College students can visit the Recycling Education Station at our local Materials Recovery Facility to learn what it means to reduce, reuse and recycle. Participants will learn how waste impacts the environment, what you can and cannot recycle in Nashville, and why it's important to recycle right. Students will also get a chance to see first hand how the machines and employees at our Materials Recover Facility work to sort all of your recyclables.
Request the Recycling Education Station field trip.
Community Recycling Workshop at the Recycling Center
Visit our local Materials Recovery Facility for a free workshop every Wednesday from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. to learn what it means to reduce, reuse and recycle. Learn how waste impacts the environment, what you can and cannot recycle in Nashville, and why it's important to recycle right. Participants will also get a chance to see first hand how the machines and employees at our Materials Recover Facility work to sort all of your recyclables.
Programs are open to all ages and all attendees will receive a free small recycling bin at the end of the program.
Register for the Community Recycling Workshop (registration is required).
Nobody Trashes Tennessee - Litter Prevention Program
Nobody Trashes Tennessee is a 1 to 2 hour class that starts with a brief, interactive presentation on the importance of litter prevention and picking up waste in our community. After the presentation, Metro Public Works will provide gloves, litter grabbers, bags and other supplies to the participants to use during a litter pick-up around the community. Participants use the app Litterati to record and map the litter they collect. They then separate items into recyclable, compostable, and landfill piles, weigh the materials, and discover how much litter they collected and sent to the recycling.
Request the Nobody Trashes Tennessee program.
Community Composting Workshop at Shelby Bottoms Nature Center
Did you know that approximately 28% of the waste that Nashville residents create each year is food and yard waste that could be composted! Composting is nature's way of recycling food and yard waste. It is a process that naturally occurs when organic materials are returned to the soil through decomposition, providing valuable nutrients for new plants to grow. By composting at home, you help keep food waste out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Join Metro Public Works at Shelby Bottoms Nature Center for a FREE class on backyard compost. Programs are one hour long on Saturday afternoons and open to all ages and skill levels. There will also be a drawing in each class for 1 free Earth Machine backyard compost bin.
Register for the Community Composting Workshop (registration is required).
Emerald Ash Borer Presentation
Nashville has many beautiful native ash trees in parks, on school grounds, along city streets and in private yards. Sadly, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an invasive pest, will kill all of them by 2026, unless they are treated. No ash tree is immune to the devastating effects of this insect which is now in Davidson County. The progress of the infestation and resulting tree death is swift. Nashville Public Works offers a 20-45 minute presentation (can be adjusted to meet your needs) on Emerald Ash Borer, how to identify ash trees, management options, tree owner's responsibility and how to hire an arborist. The presentation style is flexible and can be delivered through a projector or the speaker can use a flip chart. It is important to allow additional time for questions.
Request A Speaker
Metro Nashville Public Works offers professional presentations concerning recycling, reducing waste, composting, reducing food waste, and preventing litter for community groups and special events.
Request a Speaker.
Request An Exhibitor Table
Invite a Metro Nashville Public Works representative to host a table at your community event. Table exhibits include recycling, reducing waste, composting, reducing food waste, and preventing litter.
Request An Exhibitor.
Contests
Arbor Day Contests (Kindergarten-12th grade)
Other Programs
Interested a program not listed on this page? Contact Public Works.