Fair Lawn will receive a generous sum from the state Department of Environmental Protection this year to fund litter cleanup and community beautification efforts, the Christie Administration announced Monday.

Nearly $45,000 of the close to $16 million in Clean Communities grants doled out by the state to municipalities and counties is earmarked for Fair Lawn -- fourth most of the 68 Bergen municipalities that received state money.

The grant disbursement amounts are based on the number of housing units and miles of municipally-owned roadways within each municipality -- of which only Fort Lee, Hackensack and Teaneck had more than Fair Lawn.

The Clean Communities grants are fully funded through a fee on manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors that produce litter-generating products.

“Clean Communities funding is a real blessing for municipalities and counties in New Jersey,” Clean Communities Council Executive Director Sandy Huber said in a statement. “This money offsets strained budgets by providing funding for volunteer cleanups, purchase of equipment related to cleanup and storm drain activities, enforcement of litter laws, and education in the schools.”

Fair Lawn can use the grant money to fund any number of things, including volunteer cleanups of public properties, adoption and enforcement of local anti-littering ordinances, public information and education programs, purchases of equipment used to collect litter, purchases of litter receptacles and recycling bins, purchases of anti-litter signs, purchases of supplies to remove graffiti, and cleanups of stormwater systems that can disperse trash into streams, rivers and bays.

Click the links for the full list of municipal and county grant awards.

The borough's next litter clean up will be held on Saturday, May 19th from 8:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. To register, call (201)-794-5304 by May 16th. Gloves, bags, t-shirts and lunch will be provided for the volunteers.

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