Keeping Communities Clean
By Albert B. Kelly
In recent days, I’ve written in this space about unintended consequences. On that occasion, I was highlighting the potential unintended consequences that would likely result from releasing a decent number of inmates from custody without providing for the normal process of re-entry or the resources used to facilitate that re-entry back into society.
Now as I speak of unintended consequences, I am thinking about the possible diversion of monies from the Clean Communities Fund (CCF) and State Recycling Fund (SRF) to other budget needs which would eliminate resources given to counties and municipalities for various environmental programs, solid waste efforts, and litter-abatement programs. For the moment, it appears that any diversion language has been placed on hold.
For the record, The Clean Communities Fund gets its monies through a litter tax established by the Clean Communities Act and the State Recycling Fund gets its monies through a recycling tax on solid waste established by the Recycling Enhancement Act. The enabling legislation for both funds basically says that if the money is not used for its intended purpose, the tax cannot be imposed. In other words, the State can’t impose a dedicated tax for one thing and use the money for something entirely different.
This funding source was dedicated over a decade ago to protect the funds and ensure they would be used for their intended purposes. Apparently diverting the funds was a regular practice during certain administrations way back when and they used the monies as a way to get through a given budget cycle. The language linking the ability to impose the tax with the requirement that it be allocated toward its intended use stopped the diverting of these funds.
That said, I recognize that we’re in uncharted territory here with the pandemic and the resulting loss of a huge amount of revenues, so easing burdens on taxpayers by collecting less and allocating less is understandable. However, a diversion of funds that basically amounts to a kill switch on collecting any monies through this dedicated tax is a long term consequence that is not.
In the short term, any diversion of these monies would mean eliminating vital resources communities use to carry out effective recycling programs, litter abatement efforts, and a variety of other programs connected with solid waste. That may not sound like a big deal, but in resource-poor communities one of the constant battles waged on all fronts is against litter and trash.
I’m not sure why, but trash and litter is one of those problems that’s everyone’s fault and no one’s responsibility. The problem comes from every sort who walks or rides down the street and throws their fast-food trash out on the curbs and sidewalks of communities up and down the Garden State. Conversely, it’s no one’s problem as everyone walks by the trash because someone else should pick it up.
That means it’s left to local governments on the municipal and county levels to task their personnel with cleaning up. Occasionally groups of volunteers, as happened recently in Bridgeton, will assemble in the name of community pride, sustainability, or plain disgust to walk around the community and pick-up after the careless who leave their legacy along our curb lines and in our streets and green spaces.
A little over a week ago, some 60 volunteers picked up some upwards of 120 bags of trash throughout the Bridgeton community. That is part of where these funds come into play paying for supplies and equipment used for clean-up and where that fails, covering certain costs associated with enforcement and oversight because nothing is for free.
Funding is also vital for reaching and educating young
students and there are some useful and effective programs for grade school and
middle school students educating them on the need to recycle and the mounting
crisis we all face if we treat the environment like just another disposable
product.
I can’t speak for other communities, but I appreciate the efforts of those elected officials at the state level willing to change or delete language that would divert millions from the Clean Communities Fund and State Recycling Fund to other sources. Trash and litter and recycling may seem like a small thing during these times, but it is a never-ending struggle to keep our community reasonably clean and these resources make a big difference.