Belleville Awarded a $78,312.59 Clean Communities Grant from the DEP to Fight Local Litter

BELLEVILLE – The Township of Belleville will be receiving a $78,312.59 Clean Communities grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Solid Waste Division.

The annual Clean Communities grants help municipalities and counties across New Jersey promote volunteer and paid clean-up events, purchase equipment, support enforcement activities and educational opportunities.

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“We are always looking for ways to push Belleville toward a cleaner, greener future,” said Mayor Michael Melham, a regular panelist at the annual NJCCC seminar in Atlantic City. “Our Department of Public Works conducts numerous programs aimed at keeping our town litter-free throughout the year. It is through programs such as Clean Communities that we are able to keep our streets, open space, recreation areas and township grounds clear of litter and debris.”

This year’s grant is an increase from 2023, when Belleville received $68,947, and 2022, when Belleville received $61,740.

“Through Mayor Melham’s leadership, Belleville has consistently been one of the top municipalities in the state in regards to fighting litter," said JoAnn Gemenden, executive director, New Jersey Clean Communities Council.

"We work closely with Belleville to ensure that state funds are continually maximized to develop and implement anti-litter education and programming in the township, as well as to coordinate local clean-ups,” she said. “We are confident that Belleville will use the funding this year in a smart, strategic way in 2024 to further expand the Clean Communities mission.”

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This year’s total $27.3 million in funding represents more than a $3 million increase from last year. In total, the DEP is awarding $24.3 million to eligible municipalities and more than $3 million to counties across the state to conduct cleanups, educate the public and enforce litter-related laws and ordinances. Allocations are based on statistical reports that outline the number of housing units and municipally-owned roadway mileage in a respective area.

Grants are funded by a legislated user-fee on manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors that produce litter-generating products.

“Local litter abatement programs are more important than ever as we strive to prevent roadway litter from getting into our waterways,” Gemenden added. “Clean Communities grants provide local governments with critical funds to help create a Litter Free NJ.”

The Clean Communities Council operates public awareness campaigns to educate the public, primarily youth, about the adverse environmental impacts of litter, especially on waterways.

The organization also helped facilitate the transition away from single-use plastic and paper bags with its Litter Free NJ campaign, using public service announcements and other outreach to remind residents to bring their own reusable bags when shopping, and to recycle plastic bags. These efforts have helped to significantly reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the state by an estimated 8 billion single-use bags per 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, harm wildlife and degrade 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.

For a complete list of 2024 municipal and county grant awards, click here.

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