Photo: Jennifer Silverberg

Ballpark scraps find a second life as lawn food. Who knew?

Don't feel too guilty about not finishing your nachos at Busch Stadium. Chances are the leftover chips (and other half-eaten scraps) will make their way to St. Louis Composting for use as lawn and garden food.

A similar second chance exists for unsold food at the ballpark. It is donated to Operation Food Search to provide meals for the poor and hungry. In fact, since joining the EPA's Food Recovery Challenge in 2010, the Cardinals have donated more that 27 tons of unused food to Operation Food Search.

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Vapor trail: Nozzles like this one are slowly vanishing in St. Louis.

They've been around for well over a decade, but now the accordian-like bibs on gas nozzles at metro St. Louis gas stations are headed toward extinction.

Last year the EPA determined that the vapor-trapping nozzles are no longer needed because most cars on the road these days come equipped with devices that stop petroleum vapors from escaping the gas tank. Also, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has determined that removing the vapor nozzles will have no negative impact on air quality.

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Worker at Bridgeton landfill.

As we've reported, there's a landfill in Bridgeton that smells really, really terrible -- and while the officials responsible say they are doing everything they can to make it less stinky, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is not pleased.

He recently announced that he'll be suing the company that operates the landfill and now he is doubling down on his attacks, with a formal request for court dates in the lawsuit -- even as the state and the company attempt to reach an agreement.

He's requested a preliminary injunction hearing -- and the Circuit Court of St. Louis County could hear arguments next month about the company's alleged environmental violations.

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Treatment plants.

Since a failure at a Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District treatment plant Sunday night, millions of gallons of sewage have continued to flow into the Mississippi River. As officials work to secure backup pumps this week -- and as the high water levels remain -- the problem persists.

Is our drinking water at risk?

"I'm certainly not trying to justify this.... It's not in any way, shape or form OK," spokesman Lance LeComb tells Daily RFT, "but when you look at it, it's all really very diluted."

What went wrong -- and why is the sewage still flowing into the river three days later?

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Courtesy of the Coast Guard

Barges on the loose!

In case you missed it, a whopping total of 114 barges that were docked in south St. Louis County broke free in the Mississippi River over the weekend, sparking a Coast Guard operation to secure the runaway barges and limit the damage. Four of them hit the Jefferson Barracks Bridge.

And eleven of them sank -- and are still submerged in the river now.

Water levels locally have risen 25 feet over the last 25 days, Lt. Colin Fogarty of the U.S. Coast Guard tells Daily RFT. "That rise, of course, while not unprecedented is not common."

Of the runaway barges, he says, "All have been accounted for."

What's next? Check out the photos and footage below for a closer look at the barge accident.

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Chris Reimer

Who says downtown St. Louis doesn't get much foot traffic?

Spied this morning in downtown St. Louis: a wild turkey. And no, we're not talking about an empty bottle of bourbon. That sight is commonplace. We're talking today about a genuine meleagris gallopavo.

Chris Reimer (perhaps better known for his Twitter handle @rizzotees) e-mailed Daily RFT the following photos he snapped near the St. Louis Language Immersion School at 19th and Pine streets. Says Reimer:

"I was there dropping my kids off at school. This guy says to me, 'Excuse me, sir?' I said, 'What's up?' He pointed down the street and said, 'TURKEY!' I was like wtf is this guy talking about? I peered around the corner and saw a turkey walking down the sidewalk. I told my kids, 'Oh, I gotta get a picture of this!'"

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Courtesy of CityArchRiver 2015

New rendering.

Last night officials with the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, the folks behind the massive redevelopment project around the Gateway Arch, unveiled new details of their project -- which they say is on track for completion by October 2015.

The $380 million public-private partnership involves major traffic changes, riverfront improvements, a new museum project for the Old Courthouse, an enhanced bike trail and more.

"This is the front door to St. Louis," Ryan McClure, communications director for the foundation, tells Daily RFT. "It represents our city and everything it is and can be.... People are going to have an entirely new experience that we as St. Louisans will really be proud of."

Newly released renderings and more details on the development below.

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Worker at Bridgeton landfill.

To make the smelly landfill in Bridgeton less smelly, officials are first going to have to make it "significantly" more smelly.

That's right: An "odor reduction" plan requires a major increase in the odors they are trying to stop.

But there is some good news. The odor-increasing odor-reduction effort that was supposed to begin this week has been delayed because of the rain, which means residents may have a few more days of just the generally bad odors before the really terrible -- but necessary! -- odors take over. Hooray!

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via Reddit

New rule? Not so fast.

Can St. Louis County officials charge photographers for taking pictures in their parks?

That question was raised this week when someone posted a photo on Reddit of a new sign in a St. Louis County park that reads in all caps: "Professional photographers are required to obtain a commercial photography permit to shoot in all St. Louis County parks."

The policy is effective as of April 1, the sign says.

Tom Ott, director of the county parks department, however, tells Daily RFT that the sign has since been removed, and there's been no formal policy change. At least not yet.

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via Facebook

State Senator Brian Nieves.

Missouri state senators are busy this week, and yesterday they came together to successfully pass a bill. Hooray! Laws are important, because they impact our lives, right?

With SB 265, which has made its way out of the Senate and is headed to the House for consideration, some argue the tangible consequences in actual, real life are, you know, questionable.

On its way to potentially becoming law, the proposal, as we've outlined before, would give Missourians clear protections against a sustainable development agreement of the United Nations...that President George H. W. Bush signed in 1992.

It is, according to some Missouri Republicans, a very serious threat.

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