$120K Grant Will Help Ocean City Pick Up Litter

OCEAN CITY, NJ — A $120K grant is set to fund programs that will remove litter and prevent more trash from entering the roads and water in Berkeley.

Berkeley is one of the recipients of more than $27 million in Clean Communities grants, Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced Wednesday.

The total grant the city was awarded is $119,916.

“The DEP and New Jersey Clean Communities Council remain steadfast in our commitment to reduce the impacts of litter on our communities,” LaTourette said. “The programs funded by these grants beautify our communities, protect wildlife and the health of our waterways, and reduce localized flooding caused by the clogging of stormwater systems by trash.”

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.

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.

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.