Shelby County Fire Marshall issues burn ban
Because of current weather conditions in the Mid-South, The Shelby County Fire Department has issued an immediate ban on all open burning throughout the areas the department serves in unincorporated Shelby County.
This ban includes all residential trash, construction over use and open pit burning with and without air curtain destructors.
The Shelby County Fire Department will continuously monitor weather conditions and will make a determination as to when the ban will be lifted.
Check the website for updates. Note: Open surface burning throughout all of unincorporated Shelby County is always against the law.
Office of Sustainability receives awards
The Memphis-Shelby County Office of Sustainability received two awards Oct. 15 from the Tennessee Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (TNASLA) at the state conference in Nashville:
Greenprint 2015/2040: Mid-South Regional Greenprint and Sustainability Plan won an honor award in the category of Planning and Analysis: Regional. The blind jury from North Carolina stated that it was “a bold, inclusive project for which the team and community should be commended.” Over 80 regional partners worked on this three-year project funded by a $2.6 M HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant. Read about the plan at MidSouthGreenprint.org.- The Office of Sustainability’s rain garden installation project at the Peggy W. Edmiston Administration Building won a merit award in the category of Natural Resource Conservation: Sustainable Design. This project was funded by a $20,000 Green Development Grant from the Tennessee Stormwater Association. Partners included Shelby County Engineering and West Section TNASLA. The jury said it is a “great story of community coming together.” Learn how to install a rain garden at sustainableshelby.com/raingardens.
Earlier in October, the Memphis-Shelby County Office of Sustainability also received the Outstanding Plan Award for Greenprint 2015/2040 from the Tennessee Chapter of American Planning Association at the annual state conference in Chattanooga. The panel of judges, including planners from each division of the state, recognized the extensive public participation process.
Shelby County recycling saves $13,000
An in-house recycling program coordinated by the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Sustainability and the Shelby County Division of Corrections has saved Shelby County government thousands of dollars during the past months.
Since June, corrections center inmates have sorted paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and metal cans tossed by employees into recycling bins at 14 county government buildings. The items have been sold to recycling companies.
“This is a good example of how we’ve increased efficiency and saved taxpayers money,” said Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr.
Tom Needham, director of Shelby County Public Works, added, “Almost 96 tons of recycled materials have been collected. That’s helped offset the dumping fees we pay at the landfill when discarding Shelby County Government debris. We’ve saved more than $13,000.”
The county hopes to add a recycling program for aluminum cans. The county also bought a paper shredder that has enhanced the corrections center’s job training program.
Bill Gupton, director of the Shelby County Corrections Center, said, “Inmates have been trained to use the machine. Recycling is a growing industry. Inmates with these skills will have a better chance for employment upon their release.”
The County will still use paper shredding companies to collect and destroy some documents with personal information.
The Office of Sustainability has earned the 4-Star Community rating and the Gold Award from the Tennessee Valley Authority for its innovative programs to conserve energy and natural resources.
