The loss of the $4,909 would cause Cranbury to cut back on some of its community projects.
By: Casha Caponegro and Nick D’Amore
A litter-free town may be harder to achieve if the state discontinues its Clean Communities Program.
Cranbury uses the program to hold assembly programs in the school about litter clean up, to purchase litter receptacles in public parks and to pay for volunteers to clean public land, according to Tom Witt, Cranbury superintendent of public works.
Cranbury has received grant money from the program for 10 years. The township currently receives $4,909 annually.
The grant is likely to come to an end this year, however. Rachel Hamilton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said an Assembly vote to extend the tax for another five years to 2005 may not be put up for a vote, much less pass.
A tax used to fund the grant officially expired Dec. 31, 2000, but, Ms. Hamilton said, the state had enough money left in the program to carry on in 2001.
The loss of the grant money would cause Cranbury to cut back on some of its community projects.
"The school and our volunteers would suffer the most," said Mr. Witt. "Some projects would be curtailed. Obviously we wouldn’t do our school assemblies and our volunteers would not be paid."
Mr. Witt said the township would also have to pay for its own litter receptacles and disposal, which are currently covered by the grant money.
Ms. Hamilton said the money for the program is raised through taxes on businesses for selling litter-generating products.
She said manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors pay $300 per $1 million of their net sales per year. Restaurants and other retailers pay $225 per $1 million in net sales per year.
Ms. Hamilton said litter-generating products include food, paper products, soft drinks, beer, wine, cigarettes, tobacco and tires.
Through the tax, the state generates between $12 million to 14 million a year.
"All 21 counties and 552 communities received funding," Ms. Hamilton said.
Last year, Cranbury received $4,909, Jamesburg received $6,810 and Monroe received $39,645;
"The beauty of the program is that it gives money to local communities to use where they need it," Ms. Hamilton said.she said, adding that some townships buy recycling containers, some have educational programs and some have cleanup days, such as Earth Day cleanups.
The amount a township receives is based on several things: the proportion of housing units in the town compared with the state accounts for 50 percent and the miles of township roads accounts for 30 percent. The final 20 percent is made up of county litter abatement programs, state public information, education and administration and state-owned property litter patrol programs.