UCDD Solid Waste Planner Returns

The Upper Cumberland Development District welcomes back Lisa Luck as a Solid Waste Planner.

UCDD Deputy Director Tommy Lee said the position was paid for with grant funding and the grant funding they received was delayed so Luck’s position ended. Luck said she was hired back on a 10-month contract after the grant funding finally came through. Luck said her position as a Solid Waste Planner is critical for all 14 counties in the Upper Cumberland.

“A lot of people don’t understand the importance of solid waste and that sometimes it is hard to get all the funding that you need to hire people to keep the positions filled,” Luck said. “So they really struggle and so I’m available to help them get financing through grants.”

Luck also said she helps solid waste directors determine what they need at their facility and how to improve. Luck said she hopes to see improvement now that she is hired as Tennessee is one of the leading states in producing the most trash.

“Our landfills are filling up and we have got to learn how to manage waste more responsibly,” Luck said. “So I will tell you this, each person generates about 2,000 pounds of trash per year. If you recycle that will reduce it to 1,000 pounds, if you compost that will reduce that to 500 pounds, and if you reduce what you buy and you just buy less you could discard under 500 pounds.”

Luck said this is not the first time she has been laid off from a job as in her 40 years of writing grants under multiple different organizations, most times her positions are paid with grants.

“It’s like that with any grant,” Luck said. “Most grants are not in perpetuity, sometimes they are available and sometimes they are not.”

Luck said when she first started grant writing she would panic when she was laid off. Luck said now many organizations can use her services and she can move on to whatever opportunity comes next.

“I don’t even panic about it anymore it’s just a part of it,” Luck said. “There are so many things I can do on the side that I just pick up other projects that keep me going until the grant starts again.”

Luck said she is glad to be back with the UCDD and has had a warm welcome from many Solid Waste Directors since her return.