BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
OCEAN TOWNSHIP — The interdependent web of our environment after the winter storms is something that concerns Mary Anne Fieux, recycling/clean communities coordinator for Ocean Township.
She is concerned about the litter that has been left behind after the winter snows. It is also something the state Clean Communities Council is focusing on since a statewide litter survey was conducted at 94 randomly selected sites and released in January.
The survey found that the state’s litter rate is significantly higher than that of other states.
The township is hoping to educate residents to do something about the problem. Fieux said the township just received its Clean Communities Entitlement announcement and is getting $26,388, which is a bit less than the $27,500 it received last year and substantially less than the highest allotment received of $43,000.
According to the survey, the problem is particularly bad on urban streets, but now that the dirty snow has finally melted, what is left is ugly and unsightly litter, Fieux said. She explained that the litter, even on suburban streets, now can wind up in the oceans and lakes over the summer.
“No one likes litter, but most people believe someone else will pick it up. People believe they are not responsible for pitching in to help remove it from the streets and properties,” she said.
According to Fieux, the township has a “Queen of Litter” by the name of Vicky Flores. Flores is a part-time employee of the township’s Department of Public Works whose responsibility it is “to make the town shine by removing litter from its streets and public properties.” In addition, she supervises community service workers, many of whom pick up the litter on the sides of roads.
But even with their help, there is more that can be done to make the township litter free, Fieux said. She would like to see residents and businesses owners pick up around their houses and along the curb line.
“Often residents and businesses are not even aware that they are part of the litter problem and solution,” she said. “Paper is often set out for recycling without a weight on top to keep the paper from blowing around. We have all seen commingled bottle and can containers filled to the brim instead of being placed into two containers. “One fell swoop of the wind, and those lightweight plastic bottles and aluminum cans start tumbling down the street, and thus become litter.”
She said businesses can also help eliminate litter by making sure their garbage can lids or trash receptacle lids are always in the closed position. Additionally, businesses should make sure their trash receptacle enclosure gates are in the closed position so if garbage blows out of the container it remains in the enclosure area.
She notes that in many parts of Europe, people still sweep the front of their houses and businesses on a daily basis.
“Street are immaculate, and there is much pride,” she said.
She said people should also check their storm drains because litter-clogged storm drain grates can cause localized flooding.
She adds: “Simply pick up the litter if it is out there, the paper, cans and other debris left not by Mother Nature, but by us.”
This winter’s litter can become this summer’s beach litter by traveling down the storm drains into the ocean. If the litter doesn’t end up on the beach, it can end up harming aquatic life in the Atlantic Ocean or local lakes.
She wants to encourage people to do a spring cleanup around their properties, keep bulk trash and recyclable items off the curb until the night before scheduled pickups and keep an eye to the curb and pickup the litter before it blows down the lane onto a neighbor’s property.
Fieux cites a young chief of the Cayuse tribe who said, “The Great Spirit, in placing men on earth, desired them to take good care of the ground and to do each other no harm.”
To find out more about what can be done about litter, call the Ocean Township Clean Communities Office at (732) 531-5000 or check out the township’s Web site at www.oceantwp.org.

