Mahwah Gets $39K Grant For Litter Clean-Up

Governor Chris Christie’s administration Thursday announced $39,334 of a $16M statewide “Clean Community Grant” to benefit Mahwah’s litter cleanup efforts.

According to the Christie administration, the grant will allow for school, religious, local governments and businesses to engage in community clean-up efforts.

"This grant program is a perfect example of state and local partnerships working together to maximize the use of limited resources to address environmental issues," Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Martin said.

The Clean Communities grants are funded by fees the state government collects from wholesalers and manufacturers that make“litter-producing” products.

Grants were given out to 599 municipalities across the state. The amount of money distributed to each was based on “the number of housing units and miles of municipally owned roadways within each municipality,” according to a release sent out by the state department.

Bergen also received a county-wide grant of $116,019. That amount was based on the number of roads the county owns.

The administration says programs funded by the program can include “volunteer cleanups of public properties, adopt and enforce anti-littering ordinances, conduct beach cleanups, develop public information and education programs, purchase equipment used to collect litter, purchase litter receptacles and recycling bins, purchase anti-litter signs, purchase supplies to remove graffiti, and clean up stormwater systems that can disperse trash into streams, rivers and bays.”