Teen Litter Patrol Caps Summer of Cleanups Across New Brunswick

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NEW BRUNSWICK - Armed with claw-like grabber tools and a desire to make their city a little cleaner, members of the Teen Litter Patrol descended on New Brunswick this summer, picking up cigarette butts one after another.

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Between July 1 and Aug. 8, the Teen Litter Patrol swept through New Brunswick during four-hour shifts.

They covered 208 city blocks, picking up 6,150 pounds of trash and 1,815 pounds of recycling; the most blocks, and the most trash and recycling picked up by the Teen Litter Patrol since the program started in summer 2022.

With a crew sometimes working with only six members, for trash that’s 1,025 pounds or 0.5 tons per person. That’s impressive.

New Brunswick teens returning from last summer’s litter patrol received priority for jobs this summer, followed by applicants on a first-come, first-served policy.  Six out of the 10 hires were returning members, three for a third year, and three for a second year.

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The young workers were paid $15.13 an hour through the Youth Services System. Support also came from New Jersey Clean Communities funding, which provided clean-up supplies.

As part of their summer work, the teens also visited the Middlesex County Landfill in East Brunswick, meeting the falcon that keeps the seagulls off the trash pile and seeing where the trash goes that they pick up on the streets.

They also went to the Burlington County Recycling Center, donning hard hats to take a tour to see how single-stream recycling is sorted, and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Earth Center’s Rows for the Hungry garden to learn about how the Middlesex County Master Gardeners are growing produce for area soup kitchens like REPLENISH and Elijah’s Promise in New Brunswick.

“I’ve been happy to help with the Teen Litter Patrol from the beginning and I would love to see this program be all-year-round; having the teens out picking up litter on the streets makes such a difference for the community,” said William Malloy, recreation leader and day-to-day supervisor for the Litter Patrol. “Plus, it is a great job opportunity, many times a first job opportunity for the New Brunswick teens.”

The work the teens do is also a great reminder of how everyone can play a role in keeping our community clean and beautiful.

“After three successful summers of the Teen Litter Patrol keeping New Brunswick clean, I think it is safe to say the Litter Patrol is here to stay and will only get bigger and better each year,” added Erin Maguire, the City’s Recycling and Clean Communities Coordinator.

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