Borough of Rumson Hits the Streets to Eliminate Litter

The is hitting the streets to get rid of litter and trash that has built up along many of the main roads. 

“Over the last several months, I had received a number of calls about the large volume of litter in town, especially on the main through roads like River, Ridge and Rumson Roads,” said Frank Shanley, a Rumson Councilman and Chairman of the Public Works Committee, in an e-mail to Patch.

After speaking to several residents about the issue, he said he knew something had be done. Shanley said he teamed up with Tom Rogers, the Borough Administrator, and Mark Wellner, Superintendent of the Department of Public Works (DPW), to see if they could find a solution. The Environmental Shade Tree Commission also considered the issue.

Wellner, who is also a member of the Environmental Shade Tree Commission, suggested having two men pick up litter for a few hours on Saturday, July 9th to see how much they would get.

“This effort was paid for using funds the Borough receives from Clean Communities grants related to its excellent recycling record,” said Shanley.

DPW employees James Mellish and picked up 6 large bags of littler that day. Because of the success of their efforts, Wellner has decided to continue this effort once a month, snow cover permitting, to see if it can make a difference in the amount of litter seen on the streets of Rumson.

Shanley said that he hopes the efforts made by the borough will also be reflected through the residents. “We would like our residents to be aware of the problem and clear away the litter in front of their homes,” said Shanley.