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Tag Archives: Solid Waste Management Program

Closed rural landfills assessment completed

The department completed the work on a $216,133 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA. The goal of the project was to assess the condition of some of Missouri’s older closed rural landfills that operated under less stringent standards than modern landfills are required to meet.

The assessment of 58 landfills began in November 2010 and was completed by May 2011. Following those assessments, results of the evaluations were compiled into informational reports that were sent to each landfill owner, along with guidance materials and historical documents regarding their landfill.  

The department also developed and provided guidance to county collectors for distribution to potential buyers in the event a landfill is sold at a tax sale.  The information each collector received included the locations of all landfills in their county and guidance on landfill maintenance, buying and selling landfills, and future use of landfill properties to ensure the landfills and surrounding water resources are protected.  The objective is to help ensure that all landfill buyers are aware of the requirements, responsibilities, and potential liabilities of owning such properties.

The grant, entitled the Missouri Closed Landfill Technical Assistance Project and funded through USDA’s Rural Development Utilities Program, was managed by the department’s Solid Waste Management Program. 

Posted on Apr 25, 2012

Sheltered Workshops receive state recycling grants

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources funded $300,000 in grants to four Missouri sheltered workshops currently providing recycling services within their regions and local communities. The grants were awarded in partnership with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, who made and administered the grant awards to:

  •  NOCOMO Industries Inc., Maryville – $100,000.
  •  Boonslick Industries Inc., Boonville – $99,954.
  •  Cooperative Workshops Inc., Sedalia – $50,500.
  •  Oregon County Sheltered Workshop, Alton – $49,516.

 The departments believe these grants will strengthen recycling efforts in rural communities and assist in creating and retaining jobs for Missourians as well as divert additional marketable materials from landfills.

The Department of Natural Resources was able to provide these funds through a portion of the department’s share of the solid waste tonnage fees that are collected on each ton of solid waste entering a landfill or being transferred out of state through a transfer station.

For more information regarding grants and financial assistance, visit the Solid Waste Management Program Financial Assistance and Information section.  

Posted on Apr 23, 2012

Green Tips – Used Oil

Used oil from just one oil change can contaminate one million gallons of fresh water. It is estimated that do-it-yourselfers improperly dispose of 200 million gallons of used oil each year. If all the oil from the do-it-yourselfers were recycled, that would be enough oil for more than 50 million cars a year.

If you change your own oil, these tips may come in handy. Recycling used motor oil is easy:

 

  • Use drip pans to catch any fluids.
  • Do not dump or spill oil on the ground.
  • Put the used oil in a clean plastic container with a tight lid.
  • Do not mix the oil with anything else.
  • Do not pour oil down storm drains or place in the trash.
  • Take the used oil to a service station or an oil collection center for recycling.
  • Some big-box, auto-part and tractor supply stores will collect used oil from do-it-yourselfers.

 

Remember while you may have a local Household Hazardous Waste Collection event available to you, if we reduce the amount of waste materials by only buying what we need or finding a way to recycle them, we’re conserving resources and saving energy.

For more information about disposing of used oil, contact the Solid Waste Management Program at 573-751-5401.

For additional environmentally-friendly tips, please visit Green Tips or Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Posted on Apr 10, 2012

Green Tips – Gardening

 

Create a showcase for your plants by using a roller skate as a base for the plant container.  Plant summer grasses in galoshes or an old boot. An old child’s wagon or wheelbarrow makes a great mobile plant container, and a vintage bird cage can be planted and hung from a front porch for a wonderful old-fashioned look.

Buckets, soda bottles and plastic containers make excellent potting sources for small plants. Make sure the containers have proper drainage and adequate amounts of sunlight and water. Old wooden boxes, metal buckets, washtubs and hollowed-out gourds all make unique planters, and are a great way to reuse and recycle items. Cut into short pieces, metal and vinyl mini-blinds make great plant markers. Clean nylon hose is useful for tying plants to trellises or fences. Cut the bottom off a milk jug and use to protect small plants from frost.

Tires were banned from Missouri landfills in 1990. However, there are still thousands of tires that end up in illegal dumps – these dumps provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other vermin. One creative use for old tires is as planters in your garden. After very carefully cutting off one side wall on a large tire, gardeners can place the tire in their garden and fill it with soil, manure or compost. The tires retain a bit more heat to aid in growing, and when used as a raised bed they warm faster. Raised gardens can increase spring soil temperatures by 8 to 13° F over nearby soil temperatures at ground level.

Composting information can be found in the Solid Waste Management Program’s Homeowners’ Composting Guide. For additional environmentally-friendly tips, please visit Green Tips.

 

Posted on Apr 09, 2012

Fulton’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center is open

For those in the mood for some spring cleaning, the City of Fulton’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center is open at the new fire station, 151 W. Tennyson Road.

Residents should call 573-592-3150 to make an appointment to drop off hazardous materials between 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. The city accepts household chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, used motor oil, antifreeze, acetone-based products, batteries, paint and paint thinners. Expired or unwanted medications will also be accepted. It is important to set up an appointment so that the prescriptions or materials are disposed of appropriately. When dropping off items do not block the garage at the front of the fire station.

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center was funded through a $38,207 grant from the Mid-Missouri Solid Waste Management District in 2011.

If you would like more information, visit the Solid Waste Management Program,  Schedule of Local Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events or   Household Hazardous Waste.

Posted on Mar 23, 2012

Are you tired yet?

More than 16 million tires have been cleaned up in Missouri since we began cleaning up illegal tire dumps in 1990.

To put 16 million tires into perspective:

 

  • The average car tire is 25 inches wide.  If laid tread to tread, 16 million tires could outline the perimeter of the state of Missouri (1,487 miles) 4.25 times, or cross the United States 2.3 times.

 

  • The average car tire weighs 22.5 pounds, multiplied by 16 million means that 360,000,000 pounds or 180,000 tons of tires have been removed from Missouri’s environment.

 

  • If laid in rows along Interstate 70 from St. Louis to Kansas City, the tires would cover both lanes and shoulder of one direction 1.5 times.

 

  • One scrap tire per person per year is generated in Missouri, or approximately 6 million tires.

 

  • In 2009, 1.75 million tires were used as tire-derived-fuel in power plants and cement kilns.

 See scrap tires  or the Solid Waste Management Program for more information about the Scrap Tire program.

Posted on Feb 08, 2012

Construction permit issued for Scott County solid waste processing facility

The department issued a construction permit to RFJ Real Estate Holding, LLC to construct the I-55 Disposal & Recycling Transfer Station in Scott County. The transfer station will be used to transfer solid waste from collection vehicles to transport vehicles.

The site is to be located at 3200 Industrial Fuels Drive, east of Interstate 55 and County Road 302 in Scott City.

All applications submitted by cities, counties, and private owners are reviewed by the department to ensure that solid waste processing facilities are properly designed and constructed.  Other technical factors that protect Missouri’s environment are also examined.

Prior to acceptance of waste at the facility an operating permit must be issued. Questions and comments regarding the proposed transfer station or the department’s role in regulating solid waste processing facilities may be sent to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Solid Waste Management Program, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102-0176.  For more information visit permitted facilities or the Solid Waste Management Program.  

Posted on Jan 23, 2012

Construction and Demolition Waste

As Missouri communities continue to grow, older buildings are being renovated or demolished.  Properly managing the waste during the demolition will prevent threats to human health and the environment.

The department regulates demolition and renovation projects for institutional, commercial, public and industrial structures.  The department also regulates residential structure projects such as apartment buildings with more than four units or two or more residential structures within 500 feet of each other.  Single residential structures containing four units or less are exempted from the demolition notification and inspection requirements.

All construction and demolition waste must be properly disposed of at a permitted transfer station or landfill regardless of whether it was generated from a regulated project or a non-regulated single residential structure.  Before a regulated renovation or demolition project begins, the business or entity requesting the work should make the waste disposal a part of the contract.  This will deflect liability if the waste is not properly managed and should be considered by the contractors during the bid process.

Demolition or renovation operations can create several different kinds of waste including clean fill, recovered materials, regulated wastes, hazardous waste and asbestos containing materials.  For more information on these wastes and its proper uses or disposal, call the department at 1-800-361-4827 or (573) 751-5401 or visit Construction and Demolition Waste. 

Posted on Jan 10, 2012

Green Tips – Workouts

Missouri has many parks and trails that offer options for taking a jog or ride to burn a few calories and get some fresh air.  More than 50 Missouri State Parks offer walking or hiking trails, and 21 offer some type of biking path including the Katy Trail.  Check with your community for walking and biking trails that are well lit after dark.  Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather and take all safety precautions.

If it’s just too cold to exercise outside, create your own home gym.  Swap workout DVDs with friends, or borrow them from the library to get a workout in your living room. This saves the plastic waste in buying new videos, and can keep your routine from getting boring.  If you want to purchase home gym equipment, look for used treadmills and other cardio equipment, or look for energy efficient models, or those that don’t use any electricity.

Try to purchase a reusable water bottle instead of plastic water bottles that end up in landfills.  Workout gear can be recycled by some companies and made into new clothing.  Try to buy sweats made of natural fibers that are easier to recycle, or find clothing and fleece made from recycled plastic.

You can’t get anywhere without the shoes on your feet, so look for a good quality, well-fitting pair of athletic shoes.  When they are worn out, consider recycling your athletic shoes through the Nike Grind project, which accepts athletic shoes from any company, and grinds them into rubber chips.  This rubber, much like shredded tires, can then be used in tracks, playgrounds and tennis courts.

 For additional environmentally-friendly tips, please visit the department’s Green Tips.

 

Posted on Jan 03, 2012

How to Safely Dispose of Christmas Trees

The holidays are over and now you face the chore of putting away the decora­tions and disposing of your cut Christmas tree. Disposing of the tree is no longer the simple task of dragging it to the curb and having it hauled away with the trash. On Jan. 1, 1992, it became illegal for Missouri landfills to accept yard wastes or Christmas trees.*

Christmas tree disposal does not need to be a problem. Several environmentally sound disposal methods for Christmas trees are available.

One way of disposing of a tree in an environmentally sound way is to use a chipping machine to chip it up for landscaping mulch.

Many municipalities provide their residents chipping service to assist with recycling Christmas trees.  You may want to check with your local public works department.

If you have a fishing pond, Christmas trees can be used to improve fish habitat. It is easy to prepare your Christmas tree for use as fish habitat. Tie a cement block securely to the stump end of the tree with quarter-inch nylon rope. If you have a boat, you can drop your tree any place you wish in your private lake or pond. Make sure that the water is the correct depth to cover the top of the tree by no more than four to six feet.

More tips are available in the How to Dispose of Christmas Trees fact sheet.

 

For more information, please visit the Solid Waste Management Program Website.  

 

*The Columbia Sanitary Landfill (CSLF) is the one notable exception to the yard waste rule.  CSLF is permitted as a bioreactor and by statute are allowed to accept yard waste.

 

 

Posted on Dec 29, 2011