Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES—Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District (ORSWMD) anticipates record-breaking participation this year for its 25th Annual Earth Day Art Contest, themed “Get Wired for E-Cycling!” Entries will be accepted immediately through March 18.

“E-Cycling refers to the process of reclaiming valuable resources from electronics, anything running on a cord or battery, and this year’s theme looks to increase public awareness of the district’s annual E-Cycling collections,” said Jill Hollowell, environmental program specialist at Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC).

MRPC provides the day-to-day management for the solid waste management district.

There are multiple categories for contest entries, posters (hand-drawn or graphicarts), and re-purposing recyclables and garbage into three-dimensional pieces of art. All art entries should echo the theme of the contest and an underlying solid waste management theme to rethink, refuse, reduce, re-purpose, reuse and then recycle.

ORSWMD Chairman Brady Wilson has worked on the Earth Day project in the past and said many students respond to the program.

“The hope with this year’s theme is to turn the focus to one of the fastest growing components of the waste stream, electronic waste,” Wilson said.

The trash art and hand-drawn poster contest is open to all students in grades kindergarten through 12th in Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties. Homeschool students meeting these criteria are eligible and encouraged to participate. The graphic art portion of the contest is also open to post-secondary students.

“In the past few years, we have seen a tremendous response from area students demonstrating a lot of creativity and talent,” Wilson said. “The goal with this contest is to raise awareness of the issues, involving waste and recycling and the positive impact that each of us can have.”

Entries for all categories (trash art, hand-drawn poster and graphic arts poster) may be dropped off at the county clerk offices at the nearest courthouse or at MRPC, located at 4 Industrial Dr., St. James.

First and second place as well as honorable mention projects at each grade level will earn prizes in both trash art and poster contests. All prizes will be earth-friendly, with the first prize valued at $30, second prize valued at $10 and honorable mention prizes valued at $5. Several area banks and businesses usually partner with the solid waste district to provide prizes.

Posters must not exceed 28”x22”, and trash art projects must not exceed 12”x12”x12”. Only one entry per category per student will be accepted, but students may submit entries for all three categories.

All entries must be clearly marked with the student’s name, grade, school district, school name and teacher’s name. If any information is not labeled, the entry will be disqualified.

Full contest rules are available at www.meramecregion.org or by emailing Hollowell at jhollowell@meramecregion.org.

Area residents will have the opportunity to recycle used electronics at a special collections event in Belle on April 30 and in Rolla on May 21. Special collections usually include appliances, tires and electronics, and are open to all Ozark Rivers District residents.

The Ozark Rivers District consists of Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Osage counties and their respective cities with populations of 500 or more.

The district’s strategy for solid waste reduction, which has been individually adopted by all member governments and approved by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), involves intense education and increased recycling efforts in member counties and cities.

For more information about ORSWMD or recycling opportunities in the Ozark Rivers region, contact Snodgrass at 573-265-2993 or by email at tsnodgrass@meramecregion.org.

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments swerving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski, Osage, Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 24, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MeramecRegion.