$26K Grant to Help Clean Up Ramsey

Ramsey is receiving a bit more money from the state this year than it did last year to help combat litter in the borough.

Governor Chris Christie announced last week that Ramsey will receive a $26,755 Clean Communities grant this year, up from the $22K it received last year.

“We definitely appreciate the grant and the [increased amount],” Ramsey Mayor Chris Botta said at a recent borough council meeting. “It’s really due to the hard work of our Recycling Coordinator and volunteers who [use the grant money] do such great work every year.”

According to a release from Christie’s office, the Department of Environmental Protection gave out $18.3 million this year in Clean Communities grants to municipalities and counties across the state. According to the release, the grants are funded by a “legislated user-fee on manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors that produce litter-generating products.”

The state determines the grant amount for each town based on the number of housing units in each town, and miles of municipally-owned roadways, the release said.

Towns can use the money for different types of clean-up projects throughout the year, including litter clean-ups and town-wide clean-up days, educational programs to help promote clean communities, graffiti clean-up, and the enforcement of local anti-littering laws.

Of all of the municipalities in Bergen, Hackensack received the biggest grant this year, totaling over $68K. The county itself also received a $133,993 grant this year.

Check out the table below to see how much other nearby municipalities received.

Town

2013 Clean Communities Grant

Allendale

$12,081.72

Franklin Lakes

$ 25,754.62

Mahwah

$ 45,586.30

Oakland

$ 24,386.01

Paramus

$ 44,587.19

Ramsey

$ 26,755.43

Saddle River

$ 9,512.24

Upper Saddle River

$ 18,805.55

Wyckoff

$ 32,882.06

See the full grant list here.

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