Knoxville Sustainability Resources

Have you heard of all the sustainability resources our Scruffy City has to offer? From composting to recycling to crafting to gardening, Knoxville has a variety of organizations that keep our city clean and green and provide tons of resources on how you can do the same. Read below for sustainability resources around town, and please share others in the comments! 

Community Gardens & Farms

BattleField Farm

Pastor Chris Battle started BattleField Farm with the mission of “transforming the community’s relationship to land and food in East Knoxville’s underserved communities.” Their current location has over 40 raised beds, a High Tunnel, Chickens, and Bees. They even have a Veggie Van that takes fresh produce to communities that lack access to affordable and fresh produce. You can sign up on their website to volunteer at the farm.

CAC Beardsley Community Farm

CAC Beardsley Community Farm's mission is “to increase food security in Knoxville by providing fresh produce, accessible education, and land and resources for gardening.” They support regenerative agriculture, donate fresh food to various programs, and maintain over 24 community gardens around Knoxville. Beardsley has volunteer hours that vary seasonally throughout the year, including a monthly Saturday workday.

Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum

Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum is not only a beautiful place to wander and enjoy a variety of gardens, but they also have a Family Garden with several raised garden beds for rent to provide gardening resources for their local community.

Other community garden resources: 

• OLPN Burwell Gardens
• Native Plant Rescue Squad
• Rooted East Knox
• Knoxville Garden Alliance
• Sustainable Future Center

Composting

City of Knoxville Compost Project

The City of Knoxville Compost Project has made composting much more accessible in Knoxville. There are three food scrap drop-off sites, as well as a seasonal drop-off at the Saturday Market Square Farmers Markets - all free to use! Visit their website for more information and take their compost quiz to get the code to unlock the bins.

Green Heron Compost

Green Heron Compost is a residential and commercial compost collection service operating in Knoxville, TN. Though they paused operations to make some important updates, they'll be back up-and-running this April. Learn more and sign up for a subscription on their website. You can also buy their local compost online or in our store!

Crafting

Knox Makers

Knox Makers is a volunteer-run technology and art collective with a large workshop and wide variety of tools, technology, and programs to help more people in Knoxville create. Whether you're interested in blacksmithing, woodworking, sewing, welding, 3D-printing, electronics, or other crafts, Knox Makers studio most likely has something for you. Membership is $50/month for 24/7 use. Find more info on their website. The space is open to the public on Tuesday evenings starting at 6:30 pm for tours and Show and Share!

Sustainable Fabric Workshop

The Sustainable Fabric Workshop is a volunteer-led resource in the South Knoxville Community Center where you can get sustainable crafting materials for free. Their goal is to eliminate fabrics from our landfills while helping people develop crafting skills. Check their Facebook page for hours, workshops, and more. 

Energy

TVA EnergyRight

If you live in East Tennessee, you may be able to get a customized home energy evaluation through TVA’s EnergyRight program for FREE! They offer both in-person and virtual evaluations. See if you are eligible here. You could also be eligible for rebates on energy-efficient home updates.

KUB Green Switch Match

KUB’s Green Switch Match makes it easy to support solar projects and offset your home’s energy usage. The average customer pays $11/month to offset their monthly electricity consumption with an equivalent amount of renewable solar energy generated in the TN Valley.

EV Charging Stations

Drivers can access about 50 public and private EV charging stations in Knoxville. Want to know where they are, or recommend a new location? Check out the City’s interactive map of EV charging stations.

Keep Knoxville Beautiful

Keep Knoxville Beautiful has been keeping Knoxville “cleaner, greener and more beautiful” for over 40 years through litter cleanups, environmental education and resources, and community beautification. Volunteer at one of their cleanups, or let them help you organize a beautification effort.

KnoxFill

We’re honored to be your local refillery here in Knoxville! At KnoxFill we do our best to be a sustainability resource for our community and beyond. We sell refillable soaps, local goods, organic spices and teas, locally roasted coffees, and more to help make low-waste living more accessible to everyone. We also offer in-store specialty recycling.

Local Food

Nourish Knoxville

Nourish Knoxville has lots of resources about farmers markets including a local food guide, including information about how to use EBT/SNAP for farmers market food. Knoxville’s most popular farmers market is Nourish Knoxville's Market Square Farmers Market on Saturdays. See their website for more info about dates, times, and seasonal changes.

Markets + local food:

• Market Sq Farmers Market (some Wed; Sat, all year)
• Eastside Sunday Market (Sun, Jun-Sep)
• Circle Farmers Market (2nd Sat, May-Oct)
• Ebenezer Rd Farmers Market (Tue, Apr-Nov)
• New Harvest Farmers Market (Thu, April-Nov)
• Dixie Lee Farmers Market (Sat, May-Oct)
• Three Rivers Market (store: local produce / goods)
• Farm South (store: local produce / goods)
• Farm Fresh Produce (store: local produce / goods)

Recycling

City of Knoxville & Knox County

Both the City and the County have curbside and drop-off recycling options. Review their websites for more information about recycling, including glass (not recyclable curbside!) and other waste.

Fourth & Glass

Fourth & Glass is a new local curbside glass recycling company that began operating in 2023 due to the lack of curbside glass recycling in Knoxville. Most glass goes to Blount County's glass recycling facility, while the cleanest glass goes to local artisans to reuse for projects. Learn more on their website!

Specialty Recycling at KnoxFill

Here at KnoxFill, we have several Terracycle bins for community recycling. Our boxes include: Blades, Razors, & Packaging, Personal & Oral Care, Alkaline Only Batteries, Natural & Synthetic Corks, and Beauty Products & Packaging. We also now recycle tennis shoes / sneakers through GotSneakers.

UT Public Recycling Drop-off

UT Knoxville has a public recycling drop-off located at 2121 Stephenson Drive Dock 24 that accepts a variety of items, including plastic film/bags, glass, e-waste, and scrap metal. Items must be placed in designated bins. Check their recycling guide before you go!

UTK Student Resources

The University of TN has great sustainability resources across campus. Check out UT's Compost Facility, Free Store, Grow Lab, Recycling, Zero Waste Gamedays, and more at the Office of Sustainability. If you want to pursue a career in sustainability, you can even study Sustainability, Environmental Studies, and other environmental-focused majors (and minors!) at UT.

UT's Compost Facility makes a huge impact on the campus food waste, emissions, and soil health. "From July 2021 to June 2022, UT composted over 2.7 million pounds of food waste, animal waste, and landscaping debris combined." That's amazing work, and it's only growing!

What else??

Do you know of other sustainability resources in Knoxville? Please share them in the comments!