Nothing can threaten to destroy one’s entire day like the unknown time commitment of a disposal errand. The abrupt closure of Metro’s East Convenience Center for a decent stretch this fall turned routine trips to East Trinity Lane into battles across midday Nashville traffic to Omohundro or Ezell Pike.
Staff members at convenience centers seem to get it on a spiritual level, often taking extra care to pick up the overflow and sense, then defuse, building frustration among the day’s never-ending waves. The varied and dangerous items that come through also require a certain expertise — which workers at the now reopened East Convenience Center seem to have instinctively — meant to safeguard you, themselves and the unseen next link in the shared disposal chain.
Every day, Nashville’s recycling and waste center employees make mattresses, oil-based paint and lightbulbs full of mercury vapor disappear responsibly, simultaneously incinerating would-be bad days with an extra helping hand or pithy comment. Thanks for helping do the dirty work.
—Eli Motycka
Reporter, Nashville Scene
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