Belmar to appear in PBS Green Builders Documentary Set to Premier April 21

An NJN Public Television Special, A Green Revolution Takes Root in the Garden State , will premier nationally  on PBS stations beginning on
Monday, April 21. The show will be broadcast on NJN at 9 pm that evening and will be rebroadcast on Saturday, April 26 at 3 pm. Other PBS affiliates may present the show at different times, so check your local listings.  The documentary was filmed in Hi-Def format, and includes several stunning clips of Belmar, whose green building efforts are highlighted in the documentary.

"A quiet green revolution in the building world is evolving, and a first wave of innovative green design projects large and small have already hit the ground. NJN’s one-hour high definition special Green Builders profiles a cast of green building pioneers who have taken the leap into making their part of the ‘built environment’ a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly place," according ot the NJN advance about the documentary.

Funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, with support from the Cape Branch Foundation, Green Builders makes an excellent case for green building, and manages to include a vast array of approaches and viewpoints in the 60-minute broadcast. The documentary’s central thesis is one I believe strongly in, namely, that there is "no single way to build green."

As the NJN advance describes the program:  "Green Builders takes a wide-ranging look at a variety of approaches and levels of commitment, and at the individuals who have helped turn green building theory into reality. These individuals are not just builders and designers; they’re teachers and homeowners, corporate leaders and academic specialists, leaders of institutions and universities as well as renegade inventors. From The Willow School to PNC Bank to the first solar-hydrogen home called The Hopewell Project, people talk about why they made the move to go green, what the challenges were, and how their project has fared. In most cases, one finds that a green building project has more to do with smart planning and a mindset change about energy use than expensive technologies or consumer sacrifice. Innovation helps, and there are plenty of innovations included in Green Builders that are making green technology effective and affordable. Geothermal storage, wind farms and extensive solar array systems are examined in the program. As the stories in the documentary demonstrate, it is crucial for us to change our perspective on how we build, recognizing the wasteful impacts of the traditional mode of building and operating our structures, and realizing the environmental and economic benefits of building green. Only then will the green building movement be successful."

The documentary also emphasizes a point that I consider essential to the long-term success of green efforts in the United States — the need to develop green techniques, policies and technologies that improve the environment without the need to sacrifice.  As the NJN website explains, "The individuals in Green Builders have made the move to building green without suffering, sacrificing, or experimenting with a wispy might-happen. These are real projects on the ground, working businesses and college campuses that prove you can change your carbon footprint once you change your way of looking at how a structure operates. Collectively, the green builders are building the foundation for a more widespread movement toward making America’s built environment less harmful to the dwindling supply of healthy natural resources and even less expensive to operate. Their homes and offices are the proving grounds for green building, and their personal experiences reveal that building greener is less complicated and expensive than you probably thought, and more rewarding in the long run."

Green Builders was produced by NJN’s very talented writer-producer Bob Szuter, who also produced The Highlands Rediscovered and Turning the Tide . To see an online stream of the documentary, click here . The segment about Belmar starts at about 35:20 into the video.  My interview was taped at a well-known, 100-year old Belmar landmark. Can anyone tell from the background?

Belmar one of first towns to receive Sustainable Jersey Certification

Belmar’s many efforts to develop a sustainable community were recognized during the League of Municipalities Conference in November. Belmar was one of only 28 towns (out of 240 who applied, and 566 towns in the State) who met the rigorous requirements for the coveted designation of Certified Sustainable Jersey community in the first year of the program. Attending the November 17 awards luncheon during the League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City to accept the award for Belmar were Mayor Ken Pringle and Belmar resident and Belmar Green Team member, Tom Latza. Tom, who is a Rutgers Certified Environmental Steward, served as Belmar’s project coordinator.

“While many of the municipalities were virtually starting from scratch, Belmar can be very proud that it had the vast majority of the requirements already in place. Thanks to the Mayor and Council, the Belmar Environmental Commission, the Shade Tree Commission, the Beautification Committee, the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign and many other organizations with great foresight, my job was mainly documenting the many accomplishments of the Borough,” said Latza.

To become Sustainable Jersey certified, Belmar submitted documentation totaling 190 points in sustainable actions – nearly doubling the minimum 100 required points. The points were available in a number of areas, such as improving energy efficiency and health and wellness, smart land use and transportation, reducing waste, sustaining local economies, protecting natural resources, and addressing diversity and equity.

In addition to reaching 100 points, each community had to create a Green Team and select at least 2 out of 4 priority action options. Belmar did 3 of the 4 priority actions by undertaking Energy Audits in municipal facilities, adopting a Sustainable Land Use Pledge and adopting a Water Conservation Ordinance.

Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey that want to go green, control costs and save money, and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term. The innovative new program is an initiative of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities’ Mayors Committee for a Green Future, the Municipal Land Use Center at the College of New Jersey, the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers University, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Rutgers Center for Green Building, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and a coalition of New Jersey non-profits, state agencies, and experts in the field. To learn more about the Sustainable Jersey certification visit www.sustainablejersey.com.

To read the entire press release on Belmar’s Sustainable Jersey certification click here.

Rewards for recycling?

That’s what could happen if Belmar enters into an agreement with RecycleBank, a Philadelphia company that offers an innovative rewards program that encourages people to recycle more of their trash at curbside.
Here’s how it works: Residents receive a recycling container with a barcode attached to it. All recyclables can be put together into the container; it would no longer be necessary to separate newspapers, glass, plastic, etc. Belmar’s Department of Public Works would continue to handle the pick-up of recyclables at curbside in the Borough, but RecycleBank would retrofit Belmar’s recycling truck with a device that simultaneously weighs the container and scans the barcode, automatically recording the amount of recyclables to the customer’s account.  The weight of the recyclables is converted into a value — up to $35 RecycleBank Dollars a month.  These "dollars" can be redeemed through coupons for participating retailers, ranging from local stores and restaurants to national chains like CVS Pharmacy and Target, as well as manufacturers coupons, such as for  Kraft Foods, to name just a few.  The more you recycle, the more rewards you get (up to the limit of $35 RecycleBank Dollars a month).   Best of all, the more you recycle, the less waste gets dumped in the landfill, saving Borough taxpayers money that normally goes to tipping fees.   Plus, the Borough would continue to earn revenue from its recyclables.Belmar outsourced regular trash pick-up to a private hauler more than two years ago.  The Borough is exploring the privatization of recycling pick-up and the possibility of entering into a shared services arrangement with area municipalities when it does so. If these occur, we would still continue the RecycleBank program.
Council President Merry Brennan is leading the effort on the Council to explore the benefits of incorporating RecycleBank’s rewards program into the Borough’s curbside recycling effort.  She is in the process of collecting recycling tonnage and route information to provide to the RecyclingBank representative for this area.   A representative of RecycleBank also recently gave a presentation on Monday, February 23, to the shared services study group meeting of the mayors and administrators of Belmar, Bradley Beach, Lake Como, Neptune and Neptune City.  All of the representatives in attendance were very positive about the idea of adding RecycleBank to their recycling operations, although those with private hauling contracts, will likely have to await the renewal of their recyclables hauling contract.