EDITORIAL

Help clean up our township.

   The township Division of Recycling wants an hour of your time.
   The division is sponsoring its annual townshipwide cleanup effort over the next month and needs volunteers to pull on the gloves and clear debris and trash from along roads and in vacant lots.
   About 100 adults and 135 kids have signed up so far, most of whom are from local clubs and organizations.
   But that is a fraction of the number needed to do the job effectively — which has Recycling Director Nancy Paquette a bit concerned, especially given the decline in participation over the last three years.
   A record 696 volunteers signed up in 2004 to clean 72 locations, filling 619 industrial-size trash bags. But then the numbers dropped: 535 volunteers signed up in 2005 to clean 50 locations, collecting 411 bags of trash, while 480 people volunteered last year to clean 53 locations, collecting 356 bags.
   Ms. Paquette wants to reverse this trend. In particular, she says, the township needs adult volunteers to collect trash from heavily traveled roads that maybe too dangerous for children to work along.
   Eight roads in particular need attention, she says: Davidsons Mill and Fresh Ponds roads in the East Villages area; Charles Court and Corn, Docks Corner, Melrich and Stults roads in the industrial zone; and Blackhorse Lane, which is a mix of office and residential.
   Residents and others interested in volunteering should call the Division of Recycling, (732) 329-4000, ext. 7274.
   Everyone who participates will be provided with trash bags and work gloves. Everyone also will receive a T-shirt and will be invited to a tree planting and free picnic at Reichler Park at noon on April 22.
   "It is such a satisfying thing to do and, when you’re done, it makes the township look so much better," Ms. Paquette said.
   We’ve signed on to clean up Culver Road. We only ask that everyone else do their part.