Woodbine Awarded Clean Communities Grant Funding in the Amount of $7,992

WOODBINE – Mayor William Pikolycky announced that Woodbine has been awarded a $7,992.45 2017 New Jersey Clean Communities grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 
Woodbine has received approximately $80,000 from this program over the past two decades that it has been implemented, according to a release.
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 is unhealthy and may create a negative public image.
Activities that can be funded by the grants include cleanups of storm water drainage systems that can disperse trash into streams; volunteer cleanups of public properties; adoption and enforcement of local anti-littering ordinances; beach cleanups (such as have been participated in by Borough Peer Leadership students); public information and education programs; and purchases of litter collection equipment, litter receptacles, recycling bins, anti-litter signs, and supplies to remove graffiti. 
“We recently purchased recycling cans, both for residents and along our streetscape, sidewalks, and bikeways, using Clean Communities funding,” stated Mayor Pikolycky.