ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GRANT FUNDS MIDDLE TOWNSHIP’S CLEAN COMMUNITIES PROGRAM
On July 1st, Middle Township Committee took action to add a Special Item of Revenue to its current budget in response to a grant received to help fund the municipality’s 2024 Clean Communities Program. The grant, totaling $73,263.23 was awarded by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.
New Jersey Clean Communities is a statewide, comprehensive, litter-abatement program created by the passage of the Clean Communities Act in 1986. The mission is to reduce litter in public places, promote the volunteer cleanup of public lands, and sustain a reduction in litter through education. The Act provides a funding source for the program by placing a tax on fifteen categories of businesses that may produce litter-generating products.
The Clean Communities Program Fund generates about $20 million annually and is disbursed each year to municipalities (80%), counties (10%) and state parks service (10%).
The Clean Communities Council oversees the implementation of litter abatement programs in 558 municipalities and 21 counties, collects statistical reports, maintains a database of information that tracks local programs, and implements a statewide program of public information and education that targets Clean Communities coordinators, schools, and the general public. The Clean Communities Council also administers New Jersey’s Adopt-a-Beach and Adopt-a-Highway programs.
