NJ Among Top 10 States For Combating Climate Change, Recycling: Report

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey is the eighth-best state at combating climate change and ninth for recycling efforts, according to a Wise Voter report.

The rankings are based on how all 50 states scored in the areas of carbon emissions, green technology adoption, landfill usage, recycling and green policies, according to Wise Voter.

New Jersey received a total of 57.96 points for its efforts to combat climate change, the report said. Besides the recycling ranking, the Garden State placed 15th for reducing carbon emissions, 27th in adopting green technology, fourth for its using landfills and eighth for implementing green policies, the report said.

By way of comparison, the highest-scoring and best state, California, had a total of 68.75 points and Louisiana, the lowest-scoring and worst state, had a total of 32.01 points, Wise Voter said.

'Not Surprising'

New Jersey's ranking, particularly in the area of recycling, would be expected, data suggest.

In 2001, the Garden State recycled about 10.2 million pounds of recyclable items, such as plastic and aluminum containers, newspapers and wood scraps, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The number has fluctuated over the years, reaching a high of 14.1 million pounds in 2017 and was 12.1 million pounds in 2019, the last year such data are available.

Comments from several county officials also seem to indicate New Jersey's ranking is deserved.

"Burlington County has partnered with the nonprofit Occupational Training Center to provide this service for 40 years," David Levinsky, a county spokesperson, told Patch. "It's become a model shared service that saves towns and property taxpayers money because recycling reduces the tonnage of the trash that needs to be collected and by extension the amount of landfill tipping fees they pay."

Added Camden County Commissioner Jeffrey Nash, "the ranking is not surprising based on the decades of work we, as a governing body and as a community, have put into the issue of recycling."

Nash added Camden County's efforts to emphasize the significance of recycling start at an early age, which triggered a positive ripple effect.

"Socialization for this starts with children at a young age in the school system impressing upon them the importance of recycling and why it is critical in our community," he told Patch. "This permeates throughout the region as towns and the county know the importance of getting recyclable material out of the solid waste stream by diverting it from the landfill or incinerator."

Nash predicted that New Jersey's recently enacted plastic bag ban, which Gov. Murphy has called the strictest such policy in the nation, will be a "boon" to the Garden State's status as one of the country's best recyclers.

The ban "eliminated a key component of a product that could not be recycled [and] often ended up in our single-stream recycling system, creating havoc with the overall processing and operation of recycling," he said.

'Still More Work To Do'

New Jersey's overall eighth-place finish in the Wise Voter report and ninth-place ranking in recycling suggests there is more work to do in the Garden State, a point with Nash concurred.

"There is still more work to do and more initiatives to be started," he said.

Below, find some tips that may improve the Garden State's ranking in future Wise Voter reports, courtesy of New Jersey DEP Environmental Specialist Erin Jensen:

• follow (or encourage others who are required to follow) the state's Food Waste Recycling Law, which, briefly, requires some to source separate and recycle their food waste (eg, overripe produce, used cooking oil, unrecyclable paper)

• obey (or encouraged others who are required to obey) the state's Minimum Recycled Content Law, which, briefly, mandates some entities to source separate and recycle items (eg, milk cartons, soda bottles and glass containers)

• Stop using, or using as little as possible of, items such as plastic straws and polystyrene foam products

Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion offered another tip: Review the website recyclecoach.com and download its app.

Users of the site and app can "stay up to date with the recycling schedule and to understand exactly what can and cannot be recycled" in their community, Pullion told Patch. "It’s a great tool."

The state purchased the site several years ago for every municipality to use, added Jensen.

"Currently, more than half of New Jersey’s population has access to full and accurate information in the Recycle Coach system and the department is constantly working to expand that reach," she said.

Got a news tip? Story idea? Send me an email with the details at janel.miller@patch.com.