Applications now available

ST. JAMES—Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District (ORSWMD) began accepting district grant applications July 14 for its 2016 grant program. An estimated $150,000 is available for grants, aimed at reducing the volume of landfill waste.

Brady Wilson, ORSWMD board president, said the grant benefits more than just recycling.

“In addition to reducing the volume of waste in landfills, the grants also offers the opportunity to encourage thegrowth of business and creates jobs.”

Grants have previously provided capital equipment, such as balers for sheltered workshops and recycling trailers for cities, subsidized household hazardous waste centers in St. Robert and Rolla and recycling programs for businesses and school districts.

Grants are funded through a trash-tipping fee regulated by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). DNR collects a tonnage fee at landfills and waste transfer stations across the state and reallocates a portion of the collections to solid waste districts in Missouri.

Interested parties may attend the grant workshop, scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 4 at Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), 4 Industrial Drive, St. James
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Applications must be submitted by noon on Aug. 28, to MRPC. The district will announce funded projects by Oct. 1. A mandatory workshop for grantees will be held in December 2015. The grants will tentatively start Jan. 1, 2016, and projects should be completed by Dec. 31, 2016.

Application packets are available at www.meramecregion.org or by contacting Mary Ann Gorrell at mgorrell@meramecregion.org or at (573) 265-2993.

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 and opportunities in member counties and cities.

Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District contracts with MRPC for day-to-day operation.