Haley vows continued fight against litter
NJDOT Commissioner John J. Haley, Jr. continued his war on highway litter today when he and NJDOT maintenance forces picked up litter on Route 34 in Wall Township.
Today’s effort is part of NJDOT’s effort to clean up "litter hot spots" on the state highway system. This section of Route 34 in Wall at the intersection of Airport Boulevard is one of 15 locations statewide identified as litter hot spots.
Tomaino’s Landscaping of Howell Township, which has adopted this section of Route 34 as part of NJDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program, participated in the litter pick up. Tomaino’s Landscaping has been part of the Adopt-A-Highway program since its inception in 1992 and has also adopted sections of routes 33 and 35 in Monmouth County.
"We are committed to solving the litter problem along roadways in our state," the Commissioner said. "In April our starting point was Newark, but the entire state of New Jersey is our goal. This is a quality of life issue."
"We have been concentrating our efforts in three key areas: education, enforcement and action," the Commissioner said. "Educating the public helps to stop litter at the source; active enforcement aids in deterring littering; and the action we have been taking is to focus our litter pick-up efforts on a series of areas that historically have been litter problems."
"One of the best ways to combat litter is through our Adopt A Highway program. The program not only helps with litter control, it instills a sense of responsibility in all of us. Our department will commit to making sure that the Adopt A Highway program has the resources its needs," the Commissioner added. "We want to match new Adopt A Highway groups with these areas. We are also looking for partners in New Jersey’s corporate community to aggressively build on that program."
The Adopt-A-Highway program currently has 650 volunteer groups participating, with 876 of the state’s 2,400 highway miles adopted.
The Adopt a Highway program, along with the Inmate Litter Program, have been the lynchpins of DOT efforts to control litter. The DOT also established earlier this year a toll-free hotline to report litter, 1-800-524-7455.
"Our goal is to not only expand our litter pick-up efforts, but to more effectively communicate with communities, civic groups and interested people who want to join us in declaring war on litter," the Commissioner said.
| 
