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Chatham Township, Chatham Borough, Cherry Hill and Maplewood Win Distinctive Sustainable Jersey™ Awards Trenton, NJ (November 16, 2009) – Sustainable Jersey representatives announced the four winners of the first-ever Sustainability Jersey municipal awards for leadership, innovation and collaboration, the award winners are: · Leadership Award: Maplewood Township (Essex County) Town mayors will accept the awards at the first-annual Sustainable Jersey luncheon at the New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference on Tuesday. “The energy around the awards and the Sustainable Jersey lunch is incredible. We have over 320 mayors and municipal staff registered for the awards lunch and we are still trying to accommodate people that want to be a part of this landmark event,” said William Dressel, Jr., Executive Director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities. “The overwhelming response speaks to the success of the Sustainable Jersey program and municipalities’ desire to create sustainable communities,” Dressel concluded. The New Jersey League of Municipalities annual conference is the largest gathering of public officials in the United States with an expected draw of more than 20,000 people. Sustainable Jersey program partner Donna Drewes, of the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey, congratulated the winning towns. “Our winners represent the pioneers that are making extraordinary contributions toward the long-term goal of a sustainable New Jersey and world.” The four award winners were chosen from a list of 34 exceptional towns that have achieved the 2009 Sustainable Jersey certification. The award selection panel included representatives from PSE&G, the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC), New Jersey Future, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2, the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey and the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers University. MEET THE WINNERS "Maplewood's citizens have been involved in meaningful environmental initiatives for many years, starting with private recycling programs in the 1970's and organized efforts to establish a jitney system in the early 1990's. At this point, the town's leadership role comes quite naturally," said Fred Profeta, Jr., Maplewood’s Deputy Mayor for the Environment. Cherry Hill Township won the Sustainable Jersey Innovation award that recognizes the municipality that contributes most to Sustainable Jersey by pioneering and testing a significant innovation. The award recognizes creativity, originality, and forward-thinking that can lead to new best practices and strategies for pursuing sustainability. Cherry Hill pioneered a new recycling program that enlists citizens and local businesses to help increase the township’s recycling. With the RecycleBank program they created a new system whereby everyone in town has their recycling weighed and tracked. For every pound of waste residents recycle, they are rewarded with points that can be used to shop at local and national businesses. It is a win-win scenario, the municipality saves money on solid waste pick-up by reducing waste, community awareness about recycling increases and local businesses receive increased business from residents. With this program Cherry Hill increased recycling an amazing 80% in the first six months of the program. “As one of the first municipalities in the state to implement the RecycleBank program, we knew Cherry Hill would be pioneering a new approach to community recycling. Our decision has paid off in a significantly bolstered recycling rate, a notable decrease in solid-waste, and a more aware public – results we all proud of here,” said Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt. “My administration and I are very pleased to be receiving recognition for the Township’s successful partnership with RecycleBank in the form of a Sustainable Jersey Innovation award. Programs such as RecycleBank and Sustainable Jersey, which use incentives and education to motivate participants toward achieving environmental goals, are helping not only Cherry Hill become a national leader in implementing innovative sustainability initiatives, but the hundreds of other municipalities in New Jersey as well.” Chatham Township and Chatham Borough won the Sustainable Jersey Collaboration award that recognizes municipalities that work in partnership to implement a program or project. Working together, they successfully implemented numerous sustainability initiatives including a joint green fair, an anti-idling campaign, and a farmers market. These efforts are a model of the cooperative spirit that must be used to address the challenges of the future. “Chatham Borough is thrilled to share the Sustainable Jersey Collaboration award with Chatham Township. Great things happen with teamwork,” said Chatham Borough’s Mayor V. Nelson Vaughan. “The Township Environmental Commission, the Borough Green Initiatives Committee and volunteers across the two towns came together to put on the Green Fair of the Chathams, the Farmers Market, the Anti Idling Campaign as well as many other programs. All were successful beyond expectation! It would never have been possible without everyone working as a team. This is a wonderful example of what volunteers can do to make a community a great place to live and work." Kevin Tubbs, Mayor of Chatham Township, said “we are proud to accept this award that recognizes the hard work of volunteers of our two municipalities that worked in partnership for many hours to promote sustainability in our two communities. Chatham Township has had a long history of concern for the environment and of reaching out to other neighboring communities who share this concern. We are fortunate to have a group of tireless volunteers who dedicate their most precious of resources–their time and talents-to making Chatham Township a more sustainable community. I commend and thank the members of our Environmental Commission and Green Team who worked so hard to achieve this honor, and thank Sustainable Jersey project partners for this recognition.” About Sustainable Jersey
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