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NJCCC and NJDEP Announce Winners of the “Reduce Single-Use” PSA Video Contest

TRENTON, NJ - April 22, 2022 - This Earth Day, the New Jersey Clean Communities Council (NJCCC) and the state Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) are recognizing the six winners of the “Reduce Single-Use” video contest.

The contest challenged middle and high school students throughout the state to create an original 60-second public service announcement (PSA) video to encourage more awareness and understanding of plastic pollution and the state’s upcoming bag ban at stores, beginning May 4.

The students were challenged to develop PSAs that inform New Jerseyans about how single-use plastics contribute to litter and marine debris, harm the environment or negatively impact marine wildlife. Students had a choice to focus on plastic bags, polystyrene or straws.

“Every submission was creative, informative and a great representation of how imaginative students across the state can be,” said NJCCC Executive Director JoAnn Gemenden. “This contest was a chance to get youth more engaged in sustainability while creating fun videos that will be used to educate the public.” 

We all know that the convictions and commitment of young people are the keys to a more sustainable future.  We are so thrilled to have such a great, broad response from the students in New Jersey, we are proud of their efforts, and we heartily congratulate the winners!” said NJDEP Division of Sustainable Waste Management Director Janine MacGregor. 

The contest was split into two categories, broken down by age group. Category I comprised students in grades 7-9 and Category II consisted of students in grades 10-12. The teens were allowed to work individually or in groups of up to five. The top three submission in each category will be awarded cash prizes. Congratulations to the winners!

Category I Winners:

  • Lily Ludewig, Coco Zhou, Sofia Bachurina, Emilie Shen and Joanna Hon from Princeton Charter School, Mercer County
  • Brenna Gierman from Clinton Township Middle School, Hunterdon County
  • Jeremy Bedwell-Coll from the Flex School in Berkeley Heights, Union County

 Category II Winners:

  • Aaron Diamont from Communications High School in Wall Township, Monmouth County
  • Payge Neals and Mahek Patel from Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County
  • Sophia Lund and Layla Tice from Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights, Gloucester County

Videos were judged by a panel of members from the NJCCC and NJDEP and submissions were scored based on content quality, creativeness and production. 

Winning videos can be viewed at bagupnj.com.