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The Meramec Regional Planning Commission is resolving local solid waste issues with its Illegal Dump Clean-up and Adopt-A-Dump Program. The RPC addresses water quality protection in eight central Missouri counties through educational programming for residents about illegal dumping and mobilizing volunteers and other local organizations to clean up dumpsites.

The state of Missouri is known for its numerous waterways and karst topography, featuring limestone bedrock with sinkholes, springs and over 5,000 known caves. Sinkholes, caves and streams are favorite places for dumping grounds, and consequently susceptible to contamination due to their geographical composition.

To combat this problem, the RPC identified dumpsites using GIS technology, coordinating its efforts with county commissioners and road crews, the U.S. Forest Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Of the 70 identified sites, 17 dumps have been cleaned by 400 local volunteers since 2004. These individuals removed 367 tons of trash, including 1,280 tires and 34 tons of metal to be recycled. "This program has generated more public participation than anything we've done in the last several years," said Richard Cavender, MRPC's executive director.

In addition, the RPC established an Adopt-A-Dump program. People who frequent the area of known dumpsites have volunteered to monitor the area for new waste that is illegally deposited. Volunteers can alert local authorities and remove the items soon after they are dumped, minimizing the damage to the local water supply. The Dump Clean-up and Adopt-A-Dump programs are funded by USDA Rural Development and the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District.

In 1989, the Virginia legislature passed a mandate that all local jurisdictions recycle 25 percent of their solid waste by 1995. However, some counties have not met that requirement to date, incurring fines that could be avoided if they increased their recycling rate. In response, the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission (CPPDC) created the Regional Litter Prevention and Recycling Pilot Program for three southwest Virginia counties in 2004.

The Planning District Commission used regional cooperation to develop and implement the program, partnering with state and federal agencies, county supervisory boards, litter control and recycling departments, soil and water conservation districts, private sector entities, local schools and citizen groups. With funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission and Russell, Dickenson and Buchanan counties, CPPDC created programs to increase recycling participation. The programs include training county officials to accurately record recycling rates, education campaigns in schools, collecting printer cartridges and re-using abandoned cars for scrap metal.

In addition, an e-recycling campaign collected 15 tons of computers and other electronics. Three, no-cost county-wide document destruction and recycling promotions encouraged about 40 businesses to recycle their office paper. In just one year, the regional recycling rate jumped from about eight percent to 20 percent. The region expects to meet the 25 percent mandate within another year and to introduce paper and aluminum recycling in local schools.

The region has also adopted an Assign-A-Highway program. Litter Recycling Coordinator Toby Edwards explains, "When judges assign individuals to probation, we designate a two-mile stretch of highway that teams of about 10 probationers are required to clean up weekly. As a result, the amount of roadside litter has visibly declined." The Assign-A-Highway program, which has removed over 500 tons of litter from the three-county region, has been praised statewide as a model.

Using volunteers and probationers, the region also identified over 600 dumpsites and cleaned up 84 of them. This regional clean-up and recycling effort is significant to the region not only for removing environmental threats, but also "because businesses don't want to move into an area that's dirty, and tourists who see littered roadsides aren't going to want to come back," Edwards says.

Beautifying the region will assist with tourism promotion and diversifying the region's coal-based economy. The Crooked Road Music Trail runs through the Cumberland Plateau region and throughout Southwest Virginia giving prominence to venues from folk, country and bluegrass music history. The Trail attracts visitors from all over the country and internationally. Edwards says, "Recently, a group from Ireland mentioned to the Trail director that some of the other counties they traveled through had litter by the roadside. The more pristine it looks the better experience they'll have."

Meramec Regional Planning Commission 4 Industrial Dr St. James, MO 65559 Tel: 573.265.2993 Fax: 573.265.3550 http://www.missourimeramecregion.org/mrpc/

Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission P.O. Box 548, 950 Clydesway Rd. Lebanon, VA 24266 Tel: 276.889.1778 Fax: 276.889.5732 http://www.cppdc.org/index.htm http://www.assignahighway.com