Students Statewide Compete in Contest with Theme of “Reduce Single Use”
MAST teacher Mae Skrba with student Grace Hilliard, who won third place for the PSA video she submitted for the statewide 2026 New Jersey Clean Communities Council contest. COURTESY MARINE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
HIGHLANDS – The New Jersey Clean Communities Council (NJCCC), in concert with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), recently announced the student winners of the third-annual Single Use Plastics Video PSA contest, aimed at challenging students to positively influence their peers to reduce reliance on single-use plastics.
The contest theme, “Reduce Single Use,” highlights the importance of the state’s single-use plastics law and encourages the creativity of students statewide.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners of the Clean Communities Council’s video contest. The hard work, passion and commitment conveyed through these videos remind us of the importance of reducing plastic pollution that harms our neighborhoods, our waterways, and our wildlife,” said New Jersey Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak. “The videos produced by these students remind all of us to step up to reduce the use of plastic in our daily lives.”
The contest challenged students in grades seven through 12 throughout New Jersey to create an original 60-second PSA video, in English or Spanish, to raise awareness of how single-use plastics contribute to litter and marine debris, and how they harm the environment and wildlife.
In deciding the winners, NJCCC assembled a broad panel of judges, including county coordinators, NJCCC board members and DEP staff, along with a representative from the Garden State Film Festival. Winners received gift cards in the amounts of $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place, and $500 for third place. The winning videos are highlighted on NJCCC websites at njclean.org and litterfreenj.com and will be used during public forums hosted by the NJCCC and DEP and posted to social media.
“Once again, we received some stellar videos from impressive students throughout New Jersey,” said JoAnn Gemenden, NJCCC executive director, who noted this year’s winners are from Burlington, Monmouth, Middlesex and Union counties. “I am especially pleased to use the winning videos to highlight and promote NJ’s new Skip the Stuff law, which was passed earlier this year.”
The Skip the Stuff law takes effect Aug. 1, prohibiting restaurants and food service businesses from automatically including single-use utensils and condiment packets in takeout or delivery orders.
CATEGORY I WINNERS
First place: Zach Waggoner,
seventh grade, Roosevelt Intermediate School, Westfield.
Second place: Keoni Baheti, ninth grade, Holmdel High School.
CATEGORY II WINNERS
First place: Aiden Haygood, BCIT-West, Westampton
Second place: Ron Roberts, Carteret High School
Third place (tie): Grace Hilliard, Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Highlands, and Mayson Joseph, BCIT-West, Westampton
This article originally appeared in the June 11-17, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
