The city of Chattanooga and Orange Grove Center have announced changes to the recycling program. Orange Grove will soon cease processing recyclables at its materials recovery facility (MRF). The city’s curbside recycling program will continue uninterrupted, and the recyclables collected will be processed by another local MRF.
The change is in response to a federal mandate affecting the settings in which individuals with intellectual and/or developmental (I/DD) are served. Orange Grove’s mission to serve individuals with I/DD has not changed, and the Center will continue to engage community and business partners to maximize opportunities for individuals in the greater community, officials said.
Some 70 Orange Grove clients, including 40 full-time, had worked at the center at the Orange Grove campus.
Orange Grove Ccenter will continue to operate the five drop-off convenience centers at Warner Park, DuPont, Batters Place, Brainerd Road, Patten Center, and Signal Mountain, as well as the refuse collection centers at Airport Road, North Access Road, and West 57th Street. However, Orange Grove Center will cease operations as the city’s MRF where materials collected through the City’s highly successful curbside recycling program are processed and sold.
Orange Grove Center will continue to manage the sale and marketing of recyclable materials collected through the city curbside programs as well as the collection centers. Orange Grove will continue to operate its Recycle Express program for local businesses. The move to the new MRF will be completed by July 25.
Officials said, "The changes are part of the agency’s response to federal regulatory changes affecting funding sources for programs and services for I/DD. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) final settings rule which requires that all settings in which Medicaid-reimbursed services and programs are provided are integrated and support full access to the greater community, as well as to include opportunities to seek employment, work in integrated settings and earn a competitive wage.
"The practicalities of the new regulation require that individuals historically supported by Orange Grove in facility-based programs and services will now seek more opportunities for greater inclusion in the community."
“The new regulation, while it presents us with certain challenges, really bolsters what Orange Grove’s mission has been since it began in 1953, which is to ‘recognize, support and celebrate the qualities of the individual,’” Orange Grove Executive Director Kyle Hauth said. “Orange Grove has been very successful in working with all its community partners in maximizing the opportunities for the individuals we serve to participate in their neighborhoods and communities, whether through work, recreation or volunteering. The new regulation really just reinforces our long-standing belief that the individuals we serve do best when there are plenty of community-based options. And, as ever, we need the support of this community and donors as we all work together to effectuate the changes.”
“We value the long-standing partnership we’ve had with Orange Grove Center, and we are just as committed to working together through these changes,” said Justin Holland, administrator for the city's Department of Public Works. “As for our recycling program, the city is committed to good stewardship of resources, and we will continue to deliver efficient services that meet the needs of citizens through our recycling efforts.”
For more information on the settings rule, search “HCBS Settings Rule” www.medicaid.gov, www.tn.gov/didd, or www.tn.gov/TennCare.