Hamilton Township’s ‘green’ efforts when it comes to environmental sustainability has earned the community a ‘bronze.’

During a Sustainable Jersey luncheon at the recent New Jersey League of Municipalities annual conference, Mayor Kelly Yaede, Township Supervising Planner Robert Poppert and Clint Griggs of the Hamilton Township Environmental Commission officially accepted the honor on behalf of the town for attaining Bronze Level Certification through Sustainable Jersey’s certification program for local governments.

Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide tools, training and financial incentives to communities that are pursuing sustainability programs, such as efforts to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve the environment.

Thanks to environmentally-friendly sustainability efforts that Hamilton Township takes, and in some cases, has taken for several years, the town earned the designation for practices that include:

• Energy efficiency measures were taken at Municipal Government facilities
• Community forestry and tree planting efforts that have long earned Hamilton its ‘Tree City USA’ designation
• Services offered through Hamilton’s Ecological Facility
• Creation of Bicycle and Pedestrian plans through the Township’s Master Plan
• Implementation of Rain Gardens
• Community outreach through its Stream Cleanups organized by the town’s Environmental Commission and the town’s annual Paper Shredding events
• Promoting Recycling and Proper Disposal information
• Offering Prescription Drug Disposal opportunities through a permanent collection box at the Hamilton Police Division
• And having a Natural Resource Protection Ordinance

“Sustainability and environmentally-friendly efforts are nothing new for our community, but this designation from Sustainable Jersey recognizes the many ways that we continue to protect our local environment,” explains Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede.  “I also want to acknowledge, and to publicly thank, the dedicated volunteer members on our Environmental Commission who helped us complete our application that secured this honor.”

The Township’s participation in the Sustainable Jersey program provides the local government with an opportunity to qualify for grants that the community can use to take further steps to promote sustainability.

Additionally, Hamilton plans to continue documenting other sustainability actions that the community has taken, or plans to implement, which could earn the town a higher level certification.