STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTY, Mo. — Volunteers have removed 3.5 tons of garbage from a sinkhole cave in southeast Missouri in a single day.
The Missouri Department of Conservation said Friday the focus of the recent project was an area of Ste. Genevieve County where dissolving bedrock has formed sinkholes, springs, and caves.
Volunteer cavers along with Boy Scouts and the community focused on a 60-foot (18.29 meters) pit, removing 250 discarded tires and other trash.
“Dumping trash and other refuse in sinkholes and caves will ultimately end up in our waterways,” said Jason Crites, a fisheries management biologist with the department. “I encourage people to refrain from dumping, especially in these locations.”
Ste. Genevieve County is about 60 miles (96.56 kilometers) south of St. Louis.
