Rutherford and Williamson counties partner with City eWaste to give residents a free option to recycle electronics.
Before partnering with Franklin, Tennessee-based City eWaste, residents of Rutherford and Williamson counties had no free, reliable way to recycle their electronics.
Old phones, computers and appliances went into the trash and to the landfill, while valuable resources like copper, aluminum and precious metals were lost, City eWaste says.
Tennessee has no statewide electronics recycling law, and as regional landfill capacity tightens and the cost of hauling waste rises every year, counties have been left with a problem that only gets more expensive to ignore.
In the first six months of 2026, residents of Rutherford and Williamson counties recycled 392,944 pounds (nearly 200 tons) of electronics through free drop-off stations at eight county convenience centers operated in partnership with City eWaste.
Every municipality pays a per-pound fee to load, transport and dispose of waste at the landfill, City eWaste says. The company takes the electronics weight off the county’s books, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands in landfill fees over the life of the program.
The company says it provides the collection containers, hauling, secure data destruction and quarterly reporting at no cost to the municipality or residents, and collected devices are evaluated for refurbishment or responsibly broken down so that materials re-enter the secondary market through the right channels.
Rutherford County
Rutherford County—home to more than 360,000 residents and communities including Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne—also hosts the regional landfill that serves around 30 Tennessee counties. Roughly 70 percent of the waste buried there arrives from outside the county.
In January, the county partnered with City eWaste to offer free electronics recycling at its Smyrna, Leanna and Rockvale convenience centers.
“I have to report that City eWaste has been a really good partner to our department,” says Matt Davis, Rutherford County’s director of solid waste. “They always answer any concerns we have and make sure that even with this large volume coming in, they keep up with it. So, we always have room for more.”
Rutherford County residents diverted 104.7 tons (209,394 pounds) since January. The county’s first quarter was the largest recorded quarterly volume in the City eWaste municipal collection network with 50.4 tons. Collections went up another 8 percent in the second quarter to 54.3 tons.
“We’re thankful to Matt Davis, Rutherford County’s director of solid waste, for believing in our shared vision of secure, accessible and community-driven electronics recycling,” says City eWaste CEO Matthew Rogers. “The more communities we can reach, the less hazardous material enters our environment.”
Williamson County
Williamson County, Tennessee’s wealthiest county, says it generates a proportionate stream of upgraded electronics.
Since January 2025, the county’s partnership with City eWaste has put a free drop-off station within a short drive of every resident with five convenience centers at Nolensville, Grassland, Thompson Station, Fairview and Pinewood.
“Used electronics don’t belong in landfills. They can be transformed into jobs, capital and renewable resources if we handle them the right way,” Rogers says. “We’re showing other states what it looks like when a community comes together to mine value and take responsibility for its own waste.”
The county diverted 91.8 tons (183,550 pounds) from January to June of this year.
Williamson County was the first county to build this model with City eWaste, which is the blueprint Rutherford County has adopted.
“We are glad that with this partnership we have diverted electronics out of the landfill, and those electronics have been repurposed,” says Joshua Fann, executive director of Keep Williamson Beautiful. “As there becomes more of a focus on recycling throughout Tennessee, a partnership with City eWaste is a great first step for any waste disposal site or business.”