Officials in Plainsboro are hopeful that their sustainable initiatives around town over the years will enable them to move quickly through the Sustainable Jersey Municipal Certification Program.
The Township Committee approved Plainsboro’s participation in the program — which allows municipalities to earn points toward certification for the sustainable actions they take — in September. Once a municipality accumulates 100 points, it becomes certified and gains access to various grants and financial resources.
Preferential treatment is given to Sustainable Jersey communities when it comes to awarding municipal utility grants, like the Clean Energy Financing for Schools and Local Government, and New Jersey Smart Start Buildings grant programs.
The township has a longstanding and successful recycling program, has begun to transition its fleet to hybrid vehicles, and is conducting energy audits on township facilities — all of which are encouraged by the program.
Mayor Peter Cantu said land preservation and other efforts should help Plainsboro attain the certification quickly. “We’re now looking at doing energy audits on our buildings,” said Cantu. The first goal is to conduct them on all of the municipal facilities in town.
“One of the areas we’re focusing on is when the existing library vacates and moves into the new library facility,” he said. “We’re looking to upgrade the systems of that building, and we’re doing an energy audit there. We’ve hired an architect to help us with the conversation of the facility to a recreational facility. Those plans are moving along rather rapidly.”
Cantu also mentioned the township’s recycling program and the beginning of the township’s efforts to transition its fleet to hybrid vehicles. “I think this is really a formalization of a lot of things we’ve been doing for many years.”
