MRPC News Release 
April 11, 2006
For immediate release
For more information, contact:
Bonnie Prigge or Tammy Snodgrass, (573) 265-2993
MARIES COUNTY WASTE TIRE, APPLIANCE COLLECTION NETS 629 TIRES, 258 APPLIANCES
Maries County should be a cleaner place, after the April 1 tire and appliance collection, hosted by the Maries County Commission and the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District in partnership with Meramec Regional Planning Commission.
When the event was over, 629 tires of various sizes and 258 appliances had been delivered for recycling, said Tammy Snodgrass, MRPC’s environmental programs manager. Collection stations were set up at Maries County District Road Department shed at Lanes Prairie and at Brinktown.
Appliances—including stoves, refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, hot water heaters and other unwanted white goods—were accepted free of charge. Refrigerators made up nearly 25 percent of the appliances brought in for recycling. Fees were charged for tires, ranging from $1.50 for passenger tires to $12 for tractor tires.
“We had to charge what it cost us to get rid of the tires,” explained Snodgrass.
Some 97 cars were served at the two collection sites, Snodgrass said, with the majority—78—coming from within Maries County.
“This was a one-time collection of tires and appliances in the region and we were very please with the turn-out and participation,” said Nongluk Tunyavanich, MRPC’s environmental programs specialist, who helped plan the event. This was the first time that the county has offered an appliance and tire collection, and the second time that Ozark Rivers and MRPC had offered such a collection.
“We are glad that Maries County residents took the time and effort to clean up old tires and appliances,” Snodgrass said. “Abandoned tires collect water and become breeding grounds for mosquitos, which can carry the West Nile disease. Old appliances—especially refrigerators and freezers—can also be dangerous because children like to play in them and can easily be trapped and suffocate.”
Snodgrass thanked the county for its willingness to host the collection and for providing help. Those who assisted with the collection included Maries County Commissioners Glenn Dressendofer and Ed Fagre; Ronnie Terrill, John Sansoucie and Fred Ragan of the county road departments; Ken Ramsey, the county’s volunteer ttrash patrol officer; William Steadman; and MRPC staff members Tammy Snodgrass and Nongluk Tunyavanich.
The Ozark Rivers District includes Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their cities. The solid waste district is tasked with reducing by 40 percent the amount of waste generated for disposal. Using its tipping fee dollars, the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste District provided a grant to MRPC to host the collection.
The county is working with a scrap dealer to properly handle appliances, and tires will be recycled into tire-derived fuel.
Area residents that have questions about recycling can contact Snodgrass at (573) 265-2993 or by email at tsnodgrass@meramecregion.org.
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