Mon – Fri: 8:30 – 4:00
Closed from 12–1pm
(609) 883-2900
2 Jake Garzio Drive
Ewing, NJ 08628
Ewing, NJ 08628
Clean Communities
We Need You for Our Spring Stream Clean Up on April 13th!
The Ewing Green Team has once again partnered with The Watershed Institute and Mayor Bert Steinmann to host our annual spring Stream Cleanup.
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Read MoreAbout
Ewing is a participant in the New Jersey Clean Communities program. New Jersey Clean Communities is a statewide, comprehensive, litter-abatement program created by the passage of the Clean Communities Act in 1986 (updated and ammended (Clean Communities Act – 2002 Amended 2008)).
The program is managed jointly by the Clean Communities Council, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of the Treasury. It provides approximately $20 million in funding annually to local governments, businesses, community organizations, schools and individuals who work together to keep New Jersey clean.
The Council oversees the implementation of litter abatement programs in 558 New Jersey municipalities and 21 counties, collects statistical reports, maintains a data base of information that tracks local programs, and implements a statewide program of public information and education that targets Clean Communities coordinators, schools, and the general public. The Clean Communities Council also administers New Jersey’s Adopt-a-Beach and Adopt-a- Highway programs.
At the local level, New Jersey Clean Communities promotes a three-fold attack on litter:
- Cleanup - hold at least one day of public lands cleanup by community volunteers
- Enforcement - the adoption and enforcement of anti-litter laws, and
- Education - establish an education program within the community for adults and children.
In a multi-step process, it first identifies litter and its sources, and attempts to understand why people litter in order to be litter free.
What is litter? Litter is solid waste that’s out of place. It’s the kind of trash found on highways, lakefronts, parks and school grounds. Litter takes many forms: paper, plastics, metal cans, cigarette butts, glass, food packaging, tires and graffiti.
Where does it come from? There are seven sources of litter: pedestrians, motorists, overflowing household garbage, construction sites, dumpsters used by business, loading docks, and uncovered trucks. Litter is often blown by the wind until it is trapped somewhere, as along a fence.
Why do people litter? People tend to litter when they think someone else will clean up, when an area is already littered, and when they do not feel a sense of ownership or community pride.1
Our Plan
- Litter cleanup and removal
- Enforcement of Ewing's litter ordinances
- Public education and outreach
Why Litter Control Is Important
Even small amounts of litter are unsightly, unhealthy and dangerous. Litter causes blighted landscapes resulting in an increase in taxes and a decrease in tourism and industry; loss of civic pride and morale; and a negative public image. Litter can also cause disease in people and animals, fires, and accidents, especially on roadways. Litter also impacts neighborhood storm drains, obstructing water flow, downstream waterways, and is harmful to wildlife and plant life. It costs you money! Public funds are spent on cleanups every year and unkempt towns and neighborhoods have lower property values.
Ewing
CLEAN COMMUNITIES
Litter is everyone’s responsibility, so everyone needs to be involved. Businesses, industry, civic organizations, schools, and all residents should participate and support our efforts to keep Ewing Township clean.
We invite you, your family, small group of neighbors, organization, or business to organize a cleanup or beautification project. Contact us! We can provide assistance in planning your event.
For more information regarding the Ewing Township Clean Communities Program contact the Department of Public Works at (609) 882-3382.
Make a Difference and Volunteer!
- We need YOU (individuals, church or school groups, businesses...) to help make a difference and help us curb litter in our community. Please donate some time to keep Ewing Township beautiful.
- First set a good example. Keep your own property litter-free.
- Make a litter free community a priority! Encourage officials to provide enough receptacles for pedestrian and motorist litter.
- Join the plogging movement and pick up litter as you walk or jog.
- Curb your dog!
- Adopt a Stormdrain, Adopt a Road, Adopt a Park... Wherever you feel you can make a difference.
- Cigarette butts are litter too! In fact, they are the most littered item world wide. [Cigarette butt facts]
- Join us at our litter clean up days. If you can't join us at our event, we encourage you to express solidarity with our efforts and join with your neighbors to clean up your neighborhood or development at your convenience. Send us a photo and let us know! We'll share it.
Clean Communities Programs
Adopt
A STORMDRAIN
Do you have a stormdrain in your neighborhood that floods during weather events? Litter, leaves and all kinds of debris can accumulate and add up to a large problem that impacts drainage and our water quality.
We encourage residents to adopt a stormdrain in their neighborhood and keep it clear of leaves, trash, and other debris to reduce water pollution. Instructions for Cleaning a Stormdrain.
Volunteer 15 minutes, once or twice a month for cleaner waterways and a healthier community.
Scoop THE POOP
Did you know that one gram of pet waste contains 23 million fecal coliform bacteria? Pet waste does NOT belong in our waterways. It can suffocate aquatic animals, insects, and fish. Fecal coliform bacteria can cause pneumonia, fevers, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and possible vomiting in humans. Either bag it and dispose of it in the trash, or flush it down the toilet. Be sure to remove from the plastic bag before flushing.
Scooping your dog's poop isn't just common courtesy; it's the healthy and environmentally sound thing to do, AND it's the law!
Introducing
PLOGGING
Join the ploggers out and about Ewing Township to make your contribution to litter abatement as you are out for your daily walk or jog. Just put on your running shoes and bring along a trash bag and a pair of gloves and improve your health at the same time. We thank you for your contributions for making a cleaner Ewing.
FYI, the word “plogging” combines “jogging” with the Swedish phrase, “plocka upp,” to pick up. The activity, started by Swedish jogger, Erik Ahlstrom around 2016, has grown to an international movement.
Ewing Community Clean Ups
Participate in a Virtual Cleanup through The Watershed Institute any time during the year. Map your cleanups and put Ewing on the map! Send us a photo of your cleanup and we'll share it!
The Solo Cleanup in town 2023 were performed by Donnan Morgan (at the Scudder Falls parking lot) and Sonya Travis (at the bowling alley on Scotch Road) in the spring of 2023.
Solo Cleanups in town 2023!
Heidi Furman/Karen Kissel Shabakunk Creek Cleanup on Pennington Road April 9, 2022! (Appr. 50 lbs. of trash)
2024 COMMUNITY CLEANUPS
April 13 Earth Day Stream Cleanup
Our annual Earth Day celebratory stream cleanup will be held on Saturday, April 13th, 2024. This event is run every year by Ewing Green Team, and The Watershed Institute. This year we will once again focus our cleanup on the West Branch of the Shabakunk Creek at the Hollowbrook Community Center. The cleanup will be from 9 - 11 am. Pre-registration is required.
2023 COMMUNITY CLEANUPS
Earth Day - April 22nd Ewing Parks Spring Cleanup
This actively used park hosts lots of team sports such as baseball and football, as well as out on the basketball courts and as such, needs regular love and attention. With the help of approximately 30 community minded citizens, the Ewing Green Team conducted an Earth Day Spring Cleaning at Moody Park on Saturday morning, April 22nd. We thank all of the volunteers who came out to help including numerous Green Team and Environmental Commission members, members of the community, and a slew of TCNJ students. A great job by all.
FYI, common trash items include a plethora of plastic bottle caps, lots of straws (still!!), and the ubiquitous, disgusting, and slow to degrade, cigarette butts. Make your Earth Day resolution that will make a difference to the environment.
April 15 Earth Day Stream Cleanup
Our annual Earth Day celebratory stream cleanup was held on Saturday, April 15th, 2023. This event is run every year by Ewing Green Team, and The Watershed Institute. This year we focused our cleanup on the West Branch of the Shabakunk Creek at Home Depot on N. Olden Ave. The cleanup ran from 9 - 11 am. Our final tally has it that 43 people participated and 4683 pounds of trash were collected. A fantastic job by all!
TCNJ Student Spring Cleanup
A large contingent of around 60 TCNJ student volunteers tackled two areas of the Township - the Hollowbrook area and Higgs Park in need of some TLC on Wednesday afternoon, April 5th. This cleanup was organized by Councilwoman Jennifer Keyes-Maloney wearing her second hat as TCNJ associate Vice President for Government & Community Relations and TCNJ Community Relations Director Raj Manimaran. Thanks for a job well done!
2022 COMMUNITY CLEANUPS
April 24, 2022 Community Park Cleanup
Plan to celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, April 24th with a cleanup at Moody Park from 10am - noon. Pre-registration is required. For more information go to the Ewing Green Team's Earth Day Moody Park Cleanup Article. Reward to all participants - Free Rita's Water Ice at the end of the cleanup!
Johnson and Johnson Staff Cleanup
Held April 20th at Watson Park
April 9, 2022 Earth Day Stream Cleanup
Our annual Earth Day celebratory stream cleanup was held on Saturday, April 9th, 2022. This event is run every year by Ewing Green Team, and The Watershed Institute. This year's cleanup was at the Shabakunk Creek behind the Hollowbrook Community Center. Despite the rainy start to the event, almost 1800 pounds of trash was collected. Go Ewing!
2021 COMMUNITY CLEAN UPS
October 16, 2021 Delaware River Cleanup
A coalition of volunteer organizations and Clean Communities programs in Hunterdon and Mercer Counties, together with New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Parks, came together for the 4th Annual Delaware River Cleanup on Saturday morning, October 16th for a massive cleanup of conditions and debris left after Hurricane Ida. Four members of the Ewing Green Team represented Ewing at the Scudder Falls site, as well as other community members. The fifteen total volunteers picked up 25 bags of trash with an estimated weight of appr. 1,000 lbs. Finds included: lots of recyclables such as glass and plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard; shoes and clothing; mini kegs and food wrappers; the ever-present cigarette butts; diapers (eww); fishing Items (line, hooks, lures); styrofoam; toys and a wood pallet (memorialized in the trees right).
June 26, 2021 Shabakunk Creek Park Adoption Event
The Glendale Civic Association is "Adopting a Park," the Shabakunk Creek Park, a little pocket park on Olden Avenue. They held a native flower planting/beautification event on Saturday, June 26th beginning at 10 am.
April 24, 2021 Earth Day Stream Cleanup
In celebration of Earth Day, the Ewing Green Team, The Watershed Institute, and about 70 volunteers gathered along the Shabakunk Creek behind the Hollowbrook Community Center for our annual stream cleanup. Pre-registration and COVID protocols were required. Almost 900 pounds of trash were collected.
April 3, 2021 - Johnson Trolley Trail (JTT) Cleanup
An informal cleanup of a problem area reported by a local resident. A small group of Green Team volunteers and local residents spent a morning making a difference on the historic Johnson Trolley Trail.
March 20, 2021 - Spring Clean Up
First Day of Spring Clean Up at Moody Park. Residents were encouraged to sign up for a 1 and a ½ hour slot between the hours of 10:30 am and 3 pm online to ensure proper social distance and health protocols at Moody Park. Community members were notified upon sign-up as to their reporting location at the Park. An inclement weather date was planned for Saturday, March 27, 2021.
Thanks to local business, Rita's of Ewing for supplying the post-event treats!
2020 COMMUNITY CLEAN UPS
September 20, 2020 Trash Dash
On Sunday, September 20th, Ewingites took part in a TrashDash plogging event. This event was a part of a national all-day event run by Keep America Beautiful and coordinated by the Sustainable Ewing Green Team to get rid of litter and create a cleaner, greener, safer community for all. In addition to commonly found litter, the 2020 TrashDash aimed at bringing awareness to the safety hazards of littered personal protective equipment (PPE), including used masks and gloves.
