Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ROLLA—A special waste collection for electronics, appliances and tires will be held from 8 a.m. to noon May 20 in the parking lot of Brewer Science, 2401 Brewer Drive, Rolla.

The collection is for household items only – no materials from businesses will be accepted.

Stoves, washers, dryers, hot water heaters, and other appliances will be collected free of charge. Free electronics also include computer components, keyboards, hair dryers, VCR/DVD players, cell phones or anything that runs on a cord or battery. Oil and gas must be removed from tanks of any items such as push mowers, weed eaters, etc. Please note the following items will NOT be accepted: VHS & Data tapes; floppy disks; transformers, capacitors or ballasts not clearly marked “No PCBs”; smoke detectors; thermostats; medical waste; gas containers such as Freon, oxygen, nitrous oxide; anything leaking oil or acid, such as batteries; broken ink or toner cartridges; alkaline batteries; physically broken CRTS, TVs or monitors.

A $10 fee will be charged for each TV, computer monitor, refrigerated appliance or item with Freon brought to the collection. Tires will have a fee applied based on type and size – $2.00 each for passenger vehicle or pick-up truck, $7.50 each for large truck and $35 each for farm tractor.

For more information on what is and is not accepted, please contact Meramec Regional Planning Commission.

“Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District (ORSWMD) subsidizes those costs when it can, but citizens should take responsibility for the solid waste they generate,” said, Tammy Snodgrass MRPC assistant director and environmental programs manager. “That’s why the district charges. They simply do not have the local grant money to cover the cost of the entire collection.”

Program participants are required to unload the items themselves. The collection is open to any household in the Ozark Rivers District, including Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties. The solid waste district is tasked with reducing the amount of waste going to landfills by 40 percent.

Brewer Science and MRPC, in partnership with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and ORSWMD, are offering the May 20 collection.

“By working with the City of Rolla, the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Meramec Regional Planning Commission, Brewer Science provides area residents with community collections that have enabled local communities to properly dispose of almost 811,000 pounds of waste over the past 12 years,” said Matthew Beard, director of integrated management systems for Brewer Science. “This partnership has contracted disposal companies and provided volunteers who collect appliances, electronics and tires from area residents that would have otherwise been disposed of in a landfill.”

For more information or questions, contact Jill Hollowell at MRPC at 573-265-2993 Ext. 109 or at jhollowell@meramecregion.org.

For those unable to participate in the Rolla collection, mark your calendars for other collection dates and sites, including Aug. 29 at the community center in St. Robert and Sept. 30 in Salem at the corner of 3rd and Grand St.

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 Missouri Department of Natural Resources involves education and to reduce solid waste in member counties and cities. MRPC provides administration of the district and assists with a variety of implementation projects.

For more information about ORSWMD or waste reduction and recycling opportunities in the Ozark Rivers area, contact Tammy Snodgrass, MRPC environmental programs manager, at 573-265-2993 or by email at tsnodgrass@meramecregion.org.  Additional information can be found at www.ozarkrivers.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ORSWMD.

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 25, 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.orgor on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.