Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES– Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District is excited to begin accepting entries for its 23rd annual Earth Day Poster, Trash Art and Electronic Art Contest. This year’s theme is “Let’s Talk Trash—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

The notion that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure has been around for decades. Students entering the trash art portion of the contest will have the opportunity to experience this first-hand as they re-purpose garbage into three-dimensional pieces of art.

Poster and electronic art entries should echo the theme of the contest while also focusing on what individuals, schools and communities can do to protect and enhance the environment.
The trash art and poster contest is open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade in Crawford,Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski or Washington counties. Homeschoolstudents meeting these criteria are eligible and encouraged to participate. The electronic art portion of the contest is also open to post-secondary students.

Entries for all categories are open until March 26 and may be dropped off at the county clerk’s office of the nearest courthouse or at Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), located at 4 Industrial Dr., in St. James.

First and second place as well as honorable mention projects at each grade level will earn prizes in both thetrash art and poster contest. All prizes will be earth-friendly, with firstprize valued at $30, second prize valued at $10 and honorable mention prizes valued at $5.

Posters must not exceed 28” x 22”, and trash art projects must not exceed 12” x 12” x 12”. Only one trash art entry per student will be accepted, but students may submit entries for all threecategories.

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.

Winning entries from the 2014 contest can be viewed online at www.meramecregion.org.

For full contest rules, email Tammy Snodgrass at tsnodgrass@meramecregion.org.
The Ozark Rivers District includes Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington 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 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, MRPC environmental programs manager, at 573-265-2993 or by email. MRPC provides day-to-day administration for the solid waste district.

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 19, 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.