(TRENTON) – Senator Paul A. Sarlo and Assembly members Gary S. Schaer and Marlene Caride (all D-Bergen/Passaic) today announced more than $260,000 in Clean Community grants to support litter cleanup efforts in several municipalities in the 36th district.
“These grants will provide economic and environmental benefits to local communities,” said Sarlo. “Municipal governments have been doing more with less during these hard economic times but we don’t want to see the loss of important services such as clean communities. This support from the state will help maintain the quality of life without adding costs to municipal budgets.”
“In a time when local governments must do more with less, utilizing this funding, a majority of municipalities in the 36th district will be able to help keep our towns clean,” said Schaer. “Clean communities improve our quality of life and promote civic pride; through these grants, we can achieve both at no additional cost to taxpayers. That’s a win all-around.”
“Nothing makes a better first impression than riding or walking through a town that is clean and well-maintained,” said Caride. “These grants will help with support and promote anti-littering efforts in almost every municipality in the 36th district, without creating an additional financial burden on our residents and local town officials, who are stretched as it is.”
The Clean Communities grants are awarded through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to fund anti-litter initiatives, including volunteer cleanups of public spaces, public information and education programs, equipment to collect litter and clean up stormwater systems that can disperse trash into streams, rivers and bays.
The following towns received the following: Carlstadt, $9,917; Cliffside Park, $29,507; East Rutherford, $13,647; Little Ferry, $13,633; Lyndhurst, $28,111; Moonachie, $4,323; North Arlington, $20, 598; Ridgefield, $13,848; Ridgefield Park, $16,416; Rutherford, $24,221; South Hackensack, $4,000; Wallington, $14,884; Wood-Ridge, $10, 323; and Passaic, $59, 111.
The grants are funded by a user-fee on manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors that produce litter-generating products. Disbursements to municipalities are based on the number of housing units and miles of municipally owned roadways within each municipality.