Clean Communities

Keep Morris County Litter Free!

There are two grant opportunities for schools in Morris County (grades 5-12) sponsored by the MCMUA and Morris County Clean Communities. Schools can apply for grants for litter cleanups or the poster contest, or both.

Morris County's Clean Communities program provides two new grant opportunities for schools in Morris County, grades 5-12.

• School Litter Clean-Up - Click here for the PDF copy of the grant application for litter cleanups - Click here for Parental Consent Form
• Poster Contest "Keep Morris County Litter Free" - Click here for the PDF copy of the grant application for the poster contest

 

Morris County Clean Communities coordinator, "Keep Morris County Litter Free" is part of the statewide initiative sponsored by the New Jersey Clean Communities Council, which focuses on conducting litter cleanups, enforcing anti-litter regulations and changing the attitudes of "litterbugs" through education.

To quality for a grant, a public school must conduct a litter cleanup on at least two acres of school grounds, which may include ball fields and wooded areas, between April 18 and June 18, 2023. A minimum of 20 students and their adult supervisors much participate in each cleanup. After the cleanup has been conducted and the proper paperwork has been received and reviewed by the MCMUA, the school will receive a $600 grant to purchase outdoor receptacles for either recyclables or trash, or indoor receptacles for recyclables only.

During litter-free efforts in the year prior to the pandemic, 1,353 students and adult supervisors from 23 schools cleaned 212 acres of land and collected 159 bags of trash, 121 bags of recyclables, 2 tires, 167 lbs. of scrap metal and Morris County is eager to get this program back in action following the pandamic.

A second and optional component of the grant program is a school-run poster contest for Morris County public school students in grades 5-12. County winners of this contest will receive a $200 gift certificate and have their posters replicated on a recycling receptacle for their schools.

A school may participate exclusively in the poster contest or in conjunction with the cleanup, but it must conduct a litter cleanup to earn the $600. "We are confident these two 'green' projects will raise awareness about both litter abatement and recycling, and at the same time will assist the participating schools financially."

The applications must be received by April 10, 2023. Additional information may be obtained by calling 973-829-8005.

2022 Poster Contest Winners

The winners of the MCMUA's Clean Communities, "Keep Morris County Litter Free," poster contest from left to right: Smriddhi Jariwala, Brooklawn Middle School, Parsippany; Zach Zimmermann, Valleyview Middle School, Denville; Rishabh Mukherjee, Central Middle School, Parsippany; Mary Yap, Valleyview Middle School, Denville. Far left, Cheryl Birmingham, District Clean Communities Coordinator.

The students are standing with the recycling bins created from their posters. The recycling bins were given to the students' schools and each student received a $200 gift card. An awards ceremony was held on December 2, 2022, to honor the winners.

 

2020 Poster Contest Winners

• Mia Bozic, Valleyview Middle School, Denville Township (poster with animals and blue bird)
• Tanvi Nakirikanti, Brooklawn Middle School, Parsippany Troy Hills Township (poster with planet Earth)
   

Poster Contest Gallery (Sample of Winning Posters)