Bring your electronic to recycle at the Brookdale ShopRite

You can drop off computers, monitors, printers, wires/cables, keyboards, mice, telephones, TVs under 32 inches, VCRs, DVD players, stereos, small appliances to be recycled. Pick up information on recycling and a free cloth bag courtesy of Shoprite. Electronic recycling will continue at Brookdale Shoprite the last Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Why recycle electronics? You save the town money by not having to pay to send them to the Newark Covanta incinerator where they are burned, polluting the air in Essex County and beyond. The toxic leftovers are put in a landfill. By recycling them, you are helping to clean our air, land and water and saving our tax dollars!!

We’ll celebrate Bloomfield’s Sustainable Jersey certification, a great accomplishment due to the volunteer work of our Greener Bloomfield members, friends on the Recycling Committee and other local organizations, and our elected officials and department heads! We’ll celebrate Bloomfield’s first hybrid police and fire vehicles! We’ll celebrate the holidays with a discussion on greening the holidays with Erin Ihde! And we’ll have some festive refreshments as we enjoy getting together one last time in a fulfilling 2009!

Erin Ihde, a Research/Project Manager for The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology, has written about getting to a greener holiday in the latest Bloomfield Buzz. She asks that we come to the discussion with some ideas to share to make the holidays greener.

The 2009 Sustainable Jersey award winners are as follows:

• Sustainability Champion–Large Municipality Category: Woodbridge
• Sustainability Champion–Medium Municipality Category: Ocean City and Summit (tied)
• Sustainability Champion–Small Municipality Category: Woodbine
• Sustainable Jersey Leadership Award: Maplewood
• Sustainable Jersey Innovation Award: Cherry Hill
• Sustainable Jersey Collaboration Award: Chatham Township and Chatham Borough

The 2009 Sustainable Jersey Certified Communities are as follows*:

1. Asbury Park City
2. Belmar
3. Berkeley Heights
4. Bernards
5. Bloomfield
6. Chatham Township
7. East Brunswick
8. Edison
9. Galloway
10. Hillsborough
11. Lawrence
12. Livingston
13. Manalapan
14. Manchester
15. Maplewood
16. Montclair
17. Montgomery
18. Morristown
19. Mt. Olive
20. Ocean City
21. Oceanport
22. Parsippany-Troy Hills
23. River Edge
24. Rutherford
25. South Orange Village
26. Summit City
27. Woodbine
28. Woodbridge
29. Cherry Hill
30. North Brunswick

*Note: Up to six additional communities may be added to the list pending final review of documentation on Nov. 13.

About the Sustainable Jersey Awards

• INNOVATION AWARD: This award recognizes one municipality that contributes most to Sustainable Jersey by pioneering or testing a significant innovation. The award recognizes creativity, originality, and forward-thinking that can lead to new best practices and strategies by which we pursue sustainability.
• COLLABORATION AWARD: This award recognizes two or more municipalities that worked in partnership to implement a program or project. This award recognizes that many sustainability issues must be addressed on a regional scale or require the pooled resources of more than one partner.
• 2009 SUSTAINABLE JERSEY CERTIFICATION: The Sustainable Jersey certified municipalities submitted documentation that showed that they achieved the balance of the required certification actions, meeting the minimum of 100 action points. In addition to reaching 100 points, each community had to create a Green Team and select at least 2 out of 4 priority action options: Energy Audits for Municipal Facilities, Municipal Carbon Footprint, Sustainable Land Use Pledge, and Water Conservation Ordinance.

See the full press release.

“This certification is the result of the collaboration of many volunteers and community organizations with the Township Council and Administration,” said Palomaki. “It shows that great things can be accomplished when we all work together toward common goals. Through this process, we are protecting our environment, providing lasting value to the people who live and work in Bloomfield, and helping people find ways to save money with energy efficiency and conservation.”

“I’m honored to accept this prestigious environmental designation on behalf of the township,” said Mayor McCarthy. “This certification recognizes that Bloomfield is a community on the move, and truly one of the best places to live, work and play in New Jersey.”

The township was notified in a letter by Sustainable Jersey on November 6 of their newest credential. According to the letter, “Municipalities that earn the certification are considered by their peers, by state government, and by the experts and civic organizations in New Jersey, to be among the leading municipalities in the state.”

Bloomfield is one of 28 towns out of the 240 registered municipalities that have attained certification in the first year of the program. Bloomfield will be honored at the Sustainable Jersey awards luncheon on Tuesday, November 17 at the Sheraton Hotel in Atlantic City with Greener Bloomfield Coordinator John Palomaki accepting the award on behalf of Mayor Raymond J. McCarthy and the Township.

“This certificate is the equivalent of the People’s Choice Award for a municipality,” said McCarthy.

“From passing an anti-idling ordinance to purchasing hybrid vehicles to installing energy efficient lighting in our public buildings, we are leading the charge to make our community more sustainable.”

To become Sustainable Jersey certified, Bloomfield submitted documentation to show it had completed a balance of the required sustainability actions, meeting a minimum of 100 action points. In addition to reaching 100 points, each community had to create a Green Team and select at least 2 out of 4 priority action options. Bloomfield did 2 of the 4 priority actions by completing a Sustainable Land Use Pledge and a Water Conservation Ordinance.

Bloomfield’s Township Council passed a resolution in March 2009 designating Palomaki and Greener Bloomfield to coordinate the township’s Sustainable Jersey application. The core team included leadership assistance from Greener Bloomfield members Pat Gilleran, who coordinates Essex Freecycle, Christine Bruncati, a Sr. Research Architect at NJIT, and 2nd Ward Councilman Nicholas Joanow. The Green Team included members of the Township Council, Administration, Recycling Committee, Open Space Committee, Board of Education, Bloomfield College, and Bloomfield Tech; local organizations including the Brookdale Park Conservancy, Essex Freecycle, and Bloomfield Neighborhood Association; and local businesses, students, and members of the Greener Bloomfield organization.

Bloomfield submitted documentation for the following actions:

• Green Team*
• Sustainable Land Use Pledge*
• Water Conservation Ordinance*
• Community Education and Outreach: articles in the Bloomfield Buzz and local papers
• Community Education and Outreach: GreenerBloomfield.org website
• Green Fairs
• Green Design Commercial and Residential Buildings: Bloomfield Center Redevelopment Plan
• Anti-Idling Education and Enforcement Programs
• Natural Resource (Tree) Protection Ordinance
• Recycling Depot
• Electronics and Clothing Recycling
• Waste Reduction: Grass Cut It and Leave It program
• Waste Reduction: Backyard Composting program
• Paperless Council Innovative Demonstration Project

*Priority actions

About Sustainable Jersey

Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey that want to go green, control costs and save money, and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term. The innovative new program is an initiative of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities’ Mayors Committee for a Green Future, the Municipal Land Use Center at the College of New Jersey, the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers University, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Rutgers Center for Green Building, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and a coalition of New Jersey non-profits, state agencies, and experts in the field. To learn more about the Sustainable Jersey certification visit www.sustainablejersey.com. Program sponsors include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, PSEG, Church and Dwight, New Jersey Natural Gas, Covanta Energy, Nautilus Solar, the Smart Energy Group and Xerox.

“We are pleased to announce that your municipality has achieved the 2009 Sustainable Jersey certification. The certification is good for three years. Your town is part of an elite group of municipalities that have achieved the prestigious Sustainable Jersey certification in the first year of the program. Municipalities that earn the certification are considered by their peers, by state government, and by the experts and civic organizations in New Jersey, to be among the leading municipalities in the state.”

Greener Bloomfield coordinated the certification effort, which involved the teamwork of many Greener Bloomfield and Recycling Committee volunteers, the Mayor and Township Council, and Township Administration. More to come after the official press release is issued Tuesday!

Unlimited is a 26 minute documentary about renewable energy and other alternatives to fossil fuels. It also includes global warming and energy experts talking about various promising technologies such as solar, wind and tidal power, transportation and the issue of food as it pertains to energy consumption. Teachers in particular are invited to see it for possible use in the classroom.

After the film discussion, Greener Bloomfield will discuss winter/spring plans.

The first show is a new edition of the award-winning movie, Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America. The film is a solutions-oriented exploration of energy issues and opportunities in the USA, looking at the sources of our electricity and the problems caused by energy production, including mountain top removal, childhood asthma, and global warming. The second film – Unlimited: Renewable Energy in the 21st Century – features a group of passionate 6th graders calling on adults to take action by addressing global warming. In addition, energy experts discuss promising technologies being used right here in New Jersey, such as solar, wind, tidal power, green transportation, and food as it pertains to energy consumption.

In Kilowatt Ours, we will meet individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities who are leading the way by using energy conservation, efficiency and renewable, green power – all while saving money and the environment. This often amusing and always inspiring story shows how anyone can easily make a difference.

Unlimited was produced locally by young Bloomfield filmmaker Daniel Califf Glick, and features Montclair residents as well as a number of local children. Recently completed, the film-maker is happy to premier Unlimited in Montclair, and he will be on-hand to answer questions. Teachers are invited and encouraged to consider it for use in the classroom.

For more information about the Montclair Green Film Series, or any local environmental issues, contact the office of Environmental Affairs at (973) 509-5721. This film series is also sponsored by Community Green. Unlimited will also be shown at the October 29 Greener Bloomfield public meeting with a discussion with the filmmaker.