Township Seeks Sustainable Jersey Certification

Officials took a step in the process of Wayne becoming a certified sustainable community Wednesday evening by establishing the Sustainable Wayne Committee.

The committee will examine what the township can do to improve the quality of the local environment, conserve natural resources and foster energy efficiency.

Forming the committee was a step in the certification process, which is run by Sustainable Jersey, an initiative of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and a coalition of non-profit organizations and state agencies. 

"The idea is to promote local policies and practices to the 'greening' of our community by making us more environmentally sensitive and maintaining our resources in a manner where they can be used by future generations," said John Szabo, township planner. "The benefit of this is that we reduce our carbon footprint."

Municipalities are awarded points based on their actions; 150 points are needed to attain bronze status, 350 are needed to achieve silver status. Actions include: Having the planning and zoning boards consider "environmental justice" when making development decisions, creating a climate action plan and creating a water conservation education program. "Environmental Justice" is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people... with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies."

"I'm glad to see this is finally moving forward," said Councilman Al Sadowski. 

The council adopted a resolution to participate in the program in 2010.