Manchester Receives $143K Grant From NJ Litter Program

TRENTON, NJ — Manchester Township has been awarded a grant of more than $143,000 by the state as part of the annual Clean Communities grant program.

The program awards funding to conduct cleanups, educate the public and enforce litter-related laws and ordinances. The grant program is funded by taxes collected from businesses that produce litter-generating products and penalties paid for litter-related violations.

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 and harming wildlife by degrading the quality of the state’s surface waters.

More than $27 million was awarded in the 2024 Clean Communities grant program.

Manchester's award of $143,022 is the fourth-highest municipal award in Ocean County. Grant awards are based on population, housing units and miles of municipally owned roadways, as prescribed by state law.

"The programs funded by these grants beautify our communities, protect wildlife and the health of our waterways, and reduce localized flooding caused by the clogging of stormwater systems by trash," said Shawn M. LaTourette, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"Local litter abatement programs are more important than ever as we strive to prevent roadway litter from getting into our waterways," said JoAnn Gemenden, executive director of the New Jersey Clean Communities Council. "Clean Communities grants provide local governments with critical funds to help create a Litter Free NJ, allowing them to organize volunteer cleanups, purchase cleanup equipment and trash and recycling receptacles for public spaces, promote litter education initiatives, and enhance stormwater management programs."

The state Clean Communities Council runs public awareness campaigns to educate the public, primarily young people, about the harmful environmental impacts of litter, especially on waterways. The organization has supported the move away from single-use plastic and paper bags through its Litter Free NJ outreach campaign to remind residents to bring their own reusable bags when shopping. In addition, they encourage the public to donate excess reusable bags to local food pantries, food banks and social service agencies by providing is an easy-to-use tool to find convenient donation locations. These efforts have helped reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the state.

The NJCCC also administers the Adopt-a-Highway and Adopt-a-Beach programs. The statewide programs support groups, organizations, businesses or individuals who wish to be active stewards of public lands year-round.