State Gives Heights $16K Towards DPW Clean-Up Supplies

Hasbrouck Heights will once again receive grant funding from the state to help the borough’s offset costs for supplies and related expenses.

The state Department of Environmental Protection announced Monday that nearly $14 million would be distributed among municipalities across the state and another $1.73 million were divided among counties.  Bergen County was given one of the largest awards in the amount of $114,416.

Heights has been awarded $16,462 for this year, .

As Bill Spindler, superintendent of DPW, has said previously the borough participates in the Clean Communities program each year, submitting a report to the state annually in order to be eligible. Last year The borough received $17,837, and $17,159 the previous year,  according to Spindler.

DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said in a release this week, “Cleaning up litter protects our natural resources, improves our quality of life and builds a strong sense of pride in our communities. With these grants, our municipalities and counties will be able to carry out important programs that remove litter and graffiti from our neighborhoods and highways, making our communities better places to live and work.”

The non-profit Clean Communities Council oversees the reporting requirements for the program, according to the DEP. Grants are funded by a legislated user-fee on manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors that produce litter-generating products.

The DEP reports that disbursements to municipalities are based on the number of housing units and miles of municipally owned roadways within each municipality. County awards are based on the number of miles of roads owned.