The Murphy Administration has awarded more than $27 million in annual Clean Communities grants to municipalities and counties across the state to fund litter removal programs that clean up neighborhoods, prevent trash from entering waterways and protect wildlife and their habitats, Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced today.
These are the awards given to local townships: Toms River, $289,776; Brick, $216,967; Lakewood, $185,803; Jackson, $151,965; Manchester, $143,022; Howell, $157,361.
The grant awards were announced in conjunction with an open house event hosted by the New Jersey Clean Communities Council (NJCCC) at the Avenel Performing Arts Center. This year’s funding represents a more than $3 million increase from last year.
In total, the DEP is awarding $24.3 million to eligible municipalities and $3 million to counties across the state to conduct cleanups, educate the public and enforce litter-related laws and ordinances. The grant program is funded by taxes collected from businesses that produce litter-generating products and penalties paid for litter-related violations.
NJCCC, the nonprofit organization partnered with the DEP, oversees the reporting requirements for the program. Grant awards are based on population, housing units and miles of municipally owned roadways, as prescribed by state law.
Litter comes from many sources, such as people who carelessly toss away their trash, overflowing and uncovered garbage cans, and construction sites. Litter is often dispersed by the wind and carried into stormwater collection systems where it can clog drains causing flooding and harming wildlife by degrading the quality of the state’s surface waters.
The Clean Communities grant program funds a variety of activities including volunteer cleanups of public spaces; cleanups of stormwater systems that can disperse trash into waterways; educational outreach campaigns; enforcement of local anti-littering ordinances; graffiti removal; and purchases of trash receptacles, recycling bins and anti-litter signs.