East Windsor, Cranbury and Hightstown Receive Anti-Littering Grants

East Windsor, Cranbury and Hightstown will receive money from the state Department of Environmental Protection this year to fund litter cleanup and community beautification efforts, the Christie Administration announced Monday.

East Windsor received $38,731.32, Hightstown received $7,397.69 and Cranbury received 8,922.17 of the close to $16 million in Clean Communities grants doled out by the state to municipalities and counties.

The Clean Communities grants are fully funded through a fee on manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors that produce litter-generating products.

“Clean Communities funding is a real blessing for municipalities and counties in New Jersey,” Clean Communities Council Executive Director Sandy Huber said in a statement. “This money offsets strained budgets by providing funding for volunteer cleanups, purchase of equipment related to cleanup and storm drain activities, enforcement of litter laws, and education in the schools.”

East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov said the money will be used to support Township public works budgetted personnel and equipment geared toward litter cleanup in the parks. 

"Additionally, some small portion of the funds are used to support community environmental programs and municipal clean-up efforts, for example, the popular township recycling days with document shredding services, Adopt-A-Spot whereby community youth groups maintain public properties, sponsorship of environmental educational programs for district elementary schools and township-wide clean-up days," Mironov said in an email. 

Hightstown Administrator Michael Theokas said in an email that the Borough will use the money to purchase cleaning supplies, such as gloves and garbage bags, for the Watershed and Environmental groups' community cleanups, as well as part of the salary for part-time pubilc works employees who keep downtown Hightstown clean, and public works supplies used in parks and other public areas.

Grant money can fund any number of things, including volunteer cleanups of public properties, adoption and enforcement of local anti-littering ordinances, public information and education programs, purchases of equipment used to collect litter, purchases of litter receptacles and recycling bins, purchases of anti-litter signs, purchases of supplies to remove graffiti, and cleanups of stormwater systems that can disperse trash into streams, rivers and bays.

Click the links for the full list of municipal and county grant awards.

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