Jackson set to launch local cleanup effort

BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer

JACKSON — With spring cleaning just around the corner, the call is going out for members of local nonprofit organizations to roll up their sleeves and help get Jackson’s roads into spiffy condition.

Trash for Cash is being run by the township in conjunction with a New Jersey Clean Communities grant.

“Our Clean Communities program, the one-day program we run twice a year, was really successful,” said program coordinator Patricia Wood. “But it was disappointing to go out after more than 700 people worked hard on the roads to clean up the trash and three weeks later we had to send out the public works crews because the trash was all over the roads again.”

Wood said the idea now is to have different groups adopt a road and make a commitment to keeping it clean. Each group that registers must commit to a five-month program.

The group’s members will be required to clean their adopted road once a month between April 25 and Aug. 31, for a total of five cleanups.

“We figured that once a month for the five months would certainly help,” Wood said.

An organization must have a minimum of eight participants and those individuals can clean their adopted road at their convenience each month. At the end of August, each organization will receive $500 for its efforts.

Wood said the money paid to the nonprofit organizations will come from a minigrant. She said the program will help keep Jackson clean.

“We wanted to do something that would continue throughout the summer,” she said. “Then we will go back in the fall to our regular [public works] cleanup program,” she said. “There are plenty of roads in Jackson.”

According to Township Engineer Dan Burke, the 100 square miles of Jackson contain 229 miles of roads.

The cleanup program will be limited to the first 20 organizations that apply, and there will be a kickoff meeting at the Switlik School on April 25 at 9 a.m.

There will be a meeting for all group leaders about one week before the April 25 kickoff celebration.

“All of the groups will be invited to come in on April 25, and at that time we will be having breakfast and some speakers,” Wood said.

“That’s when we will be handing out all of the supplies and safety information. There will also be some giveaways for the kids,” she added.

Wood said that at the end of the program, a sign will be made to indicate that a specific road is a Clean Communities road, while another sign with the name of the organization will be attached to that.

Assistant coordinator Connie Sidor said she expects that people who drive into Jackson from other municipalities will not see litter on the road.

“It will be one of the cleanest towns around,” said Sidor. “With the people going out there to clean, I hope that maybe this will become contagious.”

She said that when people see a clean road, perhaps they will think twice and decide not to throw food wrappers, cups, cigarettes and other litter out the window of a vehicle.

It is also hoped that residents will take the initiative and clean their own property and the road directly in front of their homes, she said.

Some groups have already applied to work on the cleanup, and Wood said she does not expect that any group will be turned away even though the grant is limited to $10,000.

She suggested that the members of two or more small groups may want to share the work and the $500 stipend.

For more information about Clean Communities and the Adopt a Highway Trash for Cash program, call 732-928-1200, ext. 267 or 269, or visit the Jackson website at www.jacksontwpnj.net and scroll down to What’s New and then click on the Clean Communities website.

Applications are available on the website, and all groups must preregister no later than April 1.