The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection recognized New Jersey鈥檚 leaders in recycling and sustainability. Their accomplishments serve to inspire others to reduce waste, reuse and repurpose items when possible, and recycle properly to keep the state鈥檚 environment clean and healthy. An awards ceremony was held in conjunction with an annual recycling symposium hosted by the Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR).
Ten awardees including businesses, organizations and individuals were celebrated during the ceremony at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune. Those recognized include a major energy company recycling or reusing nearly all the waste it generates, a non-profit organization reducing food waste by distributing recovered meals to local families in need, a middle school fighting plastic waste through an educational campaign and recycling thousands of pounds of plastic, and a business that has kept over 10 million pounds of secondhand clothing out of landfills.
鈥淭he Murphy Administration commends the award winners for their outstanding work to promote recycling and educate their communities about the importance of reducing waste to better protect our natural resources,鈥� Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette said. 鈥淪ince 1987, when New Jersey became the first state to require recycling, our state has consistently delivered forward-looking solutions to improve recycling programs and enhance sustainable practices. We would not be a national leader if not for those constantly seeking to refine and innovate how we recycle.鈥�
鈥淲e proudly recognize these award winners for their focused and innovative efforts to keep New Jersey鈥檚 environment clean and healthy,鈥� said Paul Baldauf, Assistant Commissioner for Air, Energy and Materials Sustainability. 鈥淲e hope promoting their accomplishments will inspire others to adopt better recycling practices.鈥�
The Murphy Administration urges all residents to participate in their local recycling program and do their part to keep non-acceptable materials, such as plastic bags, trash, propane tanks and used syringes, out of curbside and workplace recycling bins. For recycling to work, it is essential keep collected recyclables clean and free of problematic items. Recyclable materials are not trash, but rather valuable raw materials that support the state鈥檚 robust recycling industry and are used to make new products.
The DEP administers several grant and educational programs to help improve the statewide recycling rate and foster sustainability. According to the most recent data, New Jersey achieved an overall recycling rate of 54 percent. Using recycled materials to create new products generally uses less energy than processing raw materials, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, reusing or repurposing old items reduces waste going into landfills. Landfills contribute to climate change by emitting methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Reducing the amount of organic matter in landfills, such food waste, wood and paper products is key to cutting the state鈥檚 methane emissions.
The accomplishments of the state鈥檚 annual Recycling Awards winners help inspire others to improve their own recycling practices and further New Jersey鈥檚 sustainability goals. The 2024 Recycling Award winners, organized by category, include:
Business
Public Service Electric & Gas (Middlesex County)
Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) is dedicated to recycling or reusing nearly all the waste it generates. In 2023, PSE&G reused over 2,500 tons of timber wetland mats, which historically would have been sent to a landfill. In addition, the company has kept tons of reusable items out of the trash through donations and provides recycling buckets to its mobile workforce trucks to assist in sorting recyclables in the field.
Government听
Old Bridge Township (Middlesex County)
In addition to curbside recyclables, Old Bridge Township collects many non-traditional recyclable materials such as mattresses, box springs, concrete, appliances, propane tanks, and more. The township also holds two paper shredding events each year and promotes its recycling programs in numerous ways 鈥� at public events, via , the township website, a recycling calendar and more.
Leadership
Sustainable Maple Shade (Burlington County)
Sustainable Maple Shade runs several unique recycling and reuse programs that go beyond traditional recycling and set an example for others to follow. These programs include a , a Trash to Treasure Halloween Candy wrapper collection, and broken holiday lights collection. Sustainable Maple Shade also participates in the to recycle plastic film and promotes its recycling and reuse programs at numerous public events.
Gary Sondermeyer (Former DEP Chief of Staff)
Gary Sondermeyer has played a prominent role in shaping New Jersey鈥檚 recycling and sustainability policies, having taken on leadership roles in numerous initiatives and organizations that work to advance recycling in the state. Sondermeyer served the public during a career at DEP that spanned three decades. In addition to serving as DEP鈥檚 chief of staff for 10 years, he also served as assistant commissioner for the department鈥檚 core permitting programs and spent most of his time within the Solid Waste and Recycling Program, where he served as director.
Rising Star
Share My Meals (Mercer County)
Share My Meals is a non-profit organization that fights food insecurity and the environmental impacts of food waste by recovering and delivering healthy meals in local communities. Surplus, complete meals are recovered from corporate cafeterias and other food service providers and distributed to local families in need.听 In 2023, Share My Meals recovered 62,000 meals that would otherwise have been disposed as trash.
Outstanding Educator/Educational Programs听
Riverside Middle School (Burlington County)
Riverside Middle School participated in the NexTrex Recycling Challenge to recycle 2,375 pounds of plastic film and, as a result of its comprehensive educational campaign, achieved third place among all challenge participants and first place in the Mid-Atlantic region. In addition, the school expanded its program into the business community and now helps other schools get started with their own programs.
Recycling Industry
Helpsy (Camden County)
Helpsy is a textile reuse and recycling company that accepts old clothing, shoes and other materials. In 2023, Helpsy collected over 12.3 million pounds of old clothing and textiles, which represented an 18 percent increase over the previous year. Helpsy is actively involved in educating the public on this issue.
Source Reduction, Resource Management/Sustainability
Booksmiles (Camden County)
Booksmiles is a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping used books out of the waste stream and getting them into the hands of teachers, as well as students in need. Booksmiles now recovers 94 tons of used books per month. The organization provides the recovered books for free to all and even sends books overseas to impoverished countries.
Morris and Sussex Counties鈥� Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling Programs (Morris and Sussex Counties)
Morris and Sussex Counties鈥� Boat Shrink Wrap Recycling programs diverted many tons of contaminant-free, recyclable plastic material from being landfilled.听 The program was well received by the local boating community and continues to grow. The Lake Hopatcong Foundation, Roxbury Clean Communities, and the recycler UltraPoly Corporation are other key partners in the program. A dedicated educational campaign was developed to promote the program.
Volunteer Citizen
Linda Weih (Burlington County)
In 2023, Linda Weih participated in the NexTrex Recycling Challenge to collect plastic bags and film for recycling in her hometown of Delanco. Weih volunteers for multiple community groups in town and registered each of them with the program. Weih collected the plastics from each group and made over 50 trips to deliver more than 2,600 pounds of material to the recycling center.