Neptune Man Seeks Eco-Friendly Drains to Help Local Waterways
By TOM CARDINALE
Jerry Meyer, a member of the Shark River Clean-up Coalition as well as the Neptune Environmental Commission and Deal and Wesley Lake Commissions, is urging Monmouth County officials to ask municipalities to install ecodrains on all street drains in an effort to eliminate trash from flowing into the ocean.
Meyer said Asbury Park has already installed the ecodrains, which work as a filter to keep large refuse from falling into the drain, in many locations and Neptune recently asked Wal-Mart to install them as part of their expansion. But Meyer said he wants to see more.
 This type of drain catches much of the debris that would otherwise flow into local waterways. This storm drain is wide open allowing debris to pollute waterways. |
“I want to talk to town engineers and town planning boards,” he said. “Any site renovations should be on board. Most of all I want Monmouth County to support it with an organized campaign to have each town do it. Not because of construction but just to do it.”
Meyer said the drains will reduce the amount of garbage that flows into the drains during heavy rainfall and subsequently ends up in the lakes and ocean, a problem he sees frequently as part of the numerous cleanup efforts in the area.
“There is no excuse,” he said. “If they use these ecodrains they’ll be street sweeper friendly.”
Meyer said some towns have expressed concern over the affect the extra trash, and the drains themselves, would have on their street sweepers.
Meyer said in some locations the changes would be as inexpensive as $45 on a drain where a retrofit filter would suffice. However, in locations where that was not an option, he said it could cost as much as $450 to put in a new ecodrain.
However, he maintains that the cost will be offset by the eliminated detriments to tourism created by litter and the thousands of man hours typically needed to clean the beaches in addition to the overall environmental impact.
Meyer said his next course of action is to unite all of the environmental groups in Monmouth County to appeal to the officials to institute a countywide policy.
“I want a coalition, a group of supporters. These are people you can’t ignore.”
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