Cherry Hill Township has been awarded a $124,859 Clean Communities Grant from the State of New Jersey.
The grant is among $17 million in grants and will be used to help the township conduct community cleanup efforts that will help beautify open space.
“These grants build civic pride and enable our cities, towns and counties to move ahead with programs that remove litter from our neighborhoods and along our roads and highways, making our state a better place to live and work,” said Jane Kozinski, assistant commissioner for environmental management.
As established by law, the nonprofit New Jersey Clean Communities oversees the reporting requirements for the program. The grants are funded by a legislated 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.
Litter comes from pedestrians, motorists, overflowing household garbage, construction sites and uncovered trucks, and is often blown by the wind until it is trapped somewhere, as along a fence or in a ditch or gully. People tend to litter when an area is already littered, and when they do not feel a sense of ownership or community pride. In addition to being unsightly, litter unhealthy may create a negative public image.
Activities funded by the grants include cleanups of stormwater systems that can disperse trash into streams, rivers and bays; volunteer cleanups of public properties; adoption and enforcement of local anti-littering ordinances; beach cleanups; public information and education programs and purchases of litter collection equipment, litter receptacles, recycling bins, anti-litter signs and supplies to remove graffiti.
