Southern Services Frequently Asked Questions

The facility is permitted to accept Construction and Demolition Debris. This material includes the following types of wastes: waste building materials resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, or demolition operations that are directly or indirectly the by-products of construction work or that result from demolition of buildings or other structures.

Other waste materials accepted are landscaping and land clearing waste and TDEC approved special waste. The site does not accept household municipal solid wastes, industrial wastes, friable or non-friable asbestos or hazardous wastes.

The facility is regulated by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and Metro Department of Public Health (Metro). The required permits include a TDEC Solid Waste Operating Permit for a Construction Demolition and Debris Landfill, a TDEC and Metro Stormwater Permit and a Metro Air Pollution Permit for the grinding operations of wood waste associated with the recycling and sorting operations. TDEC inspects the facility each quarter to ensure compliance with the Solid Waste Landfill Permit. Annual inspections are performed by Metro Division of Air Pollution to ensure proper maintenance of required information associated with the air permit. Metro and TDEC conduct a joint inspection periodically of the facility stormwater controls.

Southern Services is a more than 30-year-old, class III, Construction & Demolition landfill currently owned and operated by WM off of Briley Parkway. Southern services accepts approximately 90% of Davidson County’s landfilled C&D waste and according to the latest projections, only has 3-4 years’ worth of permitted capacity left based on the current incoming volume received at the facility.

Construction & demolition (C&D) landfills, by definition, only accept inert materials that do not react in the presence of water. The material is covered to divert rainwater from coming in contact with the debris and that water is managed as stormwater. Rainwater that does come in contact with the C&D is considered contact water and is hauled off site for treatment at a waste water treatment plant.

We have invested in several projects to control and minimize odors including:

• Upgraded odor misting and vapor control systems
• Upgraded gas collection systems by installing horizontal gas collection wells and interconnecting piping
• Installed odor control barrier with the addition of cover dirt on 34 acres scheduled to be hydroseeded in the fall of 2020

Community members can report concerns or questions by emailing us at [email protected]. If you are reporting an odor concern, if possible, please note the date, time, location of the odor and a description of the smell. Please also leave your call back number if you would like us to contact you.

Landfill gas is controlled through the installation of a gas collection system within the landfill. This system consists of series of vertical extraction wells and horizontal collectors installed within the landfill that are connected by a series of pipelines. The system is connected to the solar flares which creates a vacuum that pulls landfill gas toward the wells where the landfill gas is destroyed. Excess gas is safely eliminated by flare and monitored to assure the process meets all required air regulations.