Paterson is picking up; here’s how to help

Keeping any community clean is a constant battle and requires residents to play a role. In Paterson, cleaning our streets is a priority and consequently, we have launched an ambitious initiative aptly entitled, “Paterson is Picking Up.”

Several years ago, the state of Texas introduced a wide-sweeping, anti-litter campaign that they called, “Don’t Mess with Texas.” This initiative led to a 72% decrease in littering and is a model for all municipalities to emulate.

Earlier this year, we earmarked Urban Enterprise Zone funding to hire a private company to clean our commercial corridors. Sixty-nine Paterson streets are covered in the program and the objective is to make our business districts more inviting and aesthetically appealing. Sidewalk cleaning including sweeping and trash removal are a part of the program. Additional services include graffiti removal from poles and benches.

We ordered 90 solar-powered trash receptacles to support our aggressive efforts to keep our city clean. The benefit of having the sustainable cans is that they compact the garbage and help address overflow issues. Moreover, the receptacles are equipped with sensors that alert our Department of Public

Works as to when the bins are full. This helps us enhance waste collection efficiency.

The Clean Communities Fund, which was established in 1986 by the state legislature, recently announced grant awards to the cities who participate in the program. Paterson received the largest award since the inception of the fund and we will apply a portion of the award to purchase cameras to combat illegal dumping.

We have also distributed over 500 recycling bins to residents to help save the city money and to save our planet. Furthermore, we opened up Paterson’s first recycling center to provide accessibility and convenience to our constituents. These environmentally conscious endeavors have contributed to Paterson achieving silver certification status through Sustainable Jersey, a prestigious statewide program.

I want to reiterate that residents also play a role in keeping Paterson clean. We created an app entitled, “Paterson Plus” which allows residents to report issues related to garbage and affords them an opportunity to schedule a bulk trash pickup.

Achieving cleanliness is a daily duty and we are up for the task. However, keeping our city clean is not a spectator sport, everyone has a part to play. Therefore, all of the measures we have implemented combined with community involvement should result in Paterson picking up, literally and figuratively.

Andre Sayegh is mayor of Paterson.