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NORTH JERSEY - Passaic County offers mini grants
(by Donna Rolando - Managing Editor - September 24, 2008)
NORTH JERSEY - You know where they are — those eyesores you pass every day and groan about because they desperately need a clean sweep.
The Passaic County Office of Solid Waste and Recycling is promoting a solution. With the help of a $300 mini grant, you could get together with fellow citizens to give that eyesore a fresh look.
The money is being awarded to nonprofit groups that band together to reclaim their parks, streams and neighborhoods from the degradation of litter and trash.
“We are looking for groups who might like to do some community service,” said Passaic County Recycling Coordinator Nina Seiden. "We would love to get more groups involved in keeping Passaic County clean and litter free.
“Each group would receive $300, and this should more than cover expenses for cleaning the area they choose,” said Seiden, noting essentials like bags, gloves, tools and refreshments for participants.
Seldom does the county have to point out localities that cry out for cleanup, she said.
“They (citizens) would know best the problem areas. They probably are seeing an area on a regular basis,” Seiden said. “They don’t usually have to ask me.”
These mini grants have been available before. But with a new 2008 allotment of funds from the Clean Communities Council, a private offshoot of the state Department of Environmental Protection, Seiden likened it to “a grand reopening” for the initiative.
The Clean Communities Council has channeled enough state funds to Passaic County to inspire numerous cleanup endeavors at $300 a piece, along with educational programs associated with litter and trash abatement, Seiden said.
“You could do a lot,” she said.
Now what’s needed is for community groups to take up the challenge and contact the Passaic County Office of Solid Waste and Recycling hotline at 973-881-4506 to ask for an application.
The requirements, which she described as “simple,” say that participants must be at least 14 years old. Nonprofit groups also must have proof of liability insurance. Before and after photos must be taken of the cleanup site. And, cleanup organizers must find a way to dispose of the trash that’s collected.
Over the years, the mini grants have attracted a variety of cleanup groups, from scouts to sororities to clubs. Groups that have participated before can do it again. They also can tackle more than one eyesore as long as photographs can document their work.
Although these mini grants target nonprofit groups, Clean Communities Grants also have a history of fueling municipal cleanup efforts.
“Forever” is the term William Schug, recycling coordinator in West Milford, used to depict how long his community has rallied its citizens to an annual roadside cleanup around Earth Day.
“Everyone gets involved. The kids like going out and helping and we have a little contest with prizes,” he said, along with a thank-you picnic for those who attack litter on that day. Clean Communities Grants help make these days possible, he said.
Earth Day may be a popular time to befriend the planet but it doesn’t have to be the only time. Like Passaic County, West Milford makes grants available throughout the year to those who aren’t “afraid to go out and do a little cleanup and make things look nicer,” Schug said.
For those who help out, the township is willing to arrange for the trash to be carted away.
With grants such as these, Passaic County residents can go to bat for the environment one eyesore at a time.
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