Essex County's 'Clean Jobs' Initiative: Are Asbestos and Brownfields A Gold Mine?

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Asbestos, lead and contaminant-ridden brownfields may end up creating jobs for Essex County residents, due to a recently approved initiative from the Board of Freeholders.

The board of freeholders unanimously passed the “Essex County Clean Jobs Initiative” during their Jan. 18 meeting, which will train residents to clean up a variety of nasty toxins such as asbestos and lead, then provide them with job placement.

As part of the initiative, Essex County will require any company responding to a local bid opportunity for contaminant remediation to use a workforce consisting of at least 90% graduates from its Clean Jobs training programs.

Read the full text of the initiative here.

According to a joint statement from the freeholders, the legislation will lower Essex County’s unemployment rate and establish healthier communities, while attracting large companies to relocate to Essex and build on remediated, vacant and abandoned lots.

The business of cleaning up toxins is expected to be a “highly specialized and very lucrative trade” for the county, according to the freeholder statement.

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“The passing of this legislation is just the beginning,” said Freeholder President Britnee Timberlake of East Orange, the initiative’s sponsor. “True success will be measured by how, we, Essex County, implement it and how many people can be gainfully employed or venture into entrepreneurship because of this law.”

Stakeholders and affected groups may include veterans’ organizations, nonprofits, educational institutions, the county’s One-Stop Career Center, prison re-entry programs, labor trade unions, environmental groups and brownfield/lead/asbestos remediation professionals, the freeholder statement said.

Watch a video of the Jan. 18 public meeting here.

Prospective trainees must be unemployed or underemployed residents of Essex County, and be able to pass a basic aptitude test. Residents interested in enrolling in the Clean Jobs training program should check the freeholder website for updates and details.

Towns in Essex County include: Belleville, Bloomfield, Caldwell, Cedar Grove, East Orange, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Irvington, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair, Newark, North Caldwell, Nutley, Orange, Roseland, South Orange, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange.

File Photo: New Jersey DEP

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