by Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, Ph.D., 13th Legislative District
View the entire newsletter for more articles: 2021 – NJAC County Biz – May
I do not think there is a resident of New Jersey who does not appreciate and have a profound affinity for the great physical beauty of our state’s environment. From the mountainous regions of the Highlands in the north, to the coastline of the legendary Jersey Shore, to the farmlands of Central Jersey, to the Pine Barrens of South Jersey, our environment is critical to our financial, cultural, economic and physical well-being.
As a result, New Jersey has some of the strictest environmental laws in the nation. Many of these are sorely needed and effective; however, not every bill couched in “good for the environment” intent is actually needed, and may in some instances, do way more harm than good. One of these is Assembly Bill 5191.
This bill in short, would prohibit organic waste from entering landfills. The argument is that organic waste produces methane gas, which in turn, is bad for the ozone layer. On its face, the idea of prohibiting naturally occurring matter that quickly decomposes from entering a landfill seems counterintuitive. Simply put, it is. In the natural world, millions of tons of grass clippings, fallen leaves, annual plantings and so on are decomposing every day.
To single out the relative miniscule quantity of organic material that ends up in New Jersey landfills is preposterous. What’s more, it flies in the face of exactly the type of initiative that environmentalists have been championing for years. Here is why.
A total of nine counties in New Jersey currently have systems built in to their landfills that capture methane gas produced from decomposing organic waste and transform it into viable, renewable energy. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been invested in these systems, which not only produce a tremendous return on investment, but a reliable source of alternative energy. If adopted, this bill would immediately render these systems obsolete and a dependable, renewable energy system would be lost. In addition, counties would be reluctant to ever invest in creative alternative energy systems again, lest they be scuttled into obsolescence by a change of the rules in midstream.
Then there is the enormous cost to businesses to comply with a law that at best is unnecessary and at worst, damaging to the pursuit of alternative energy sources. The next step would be the targeting and enforcement on residential properties, foisting yet another burden on municipalities and long-suffering taxpayers.
No one can argue that we need good, sound environmental policies. However, adopting legislation that will have little, if any impact on the environment while costing taxpayers and businesses significantly, and neutering systems that are lauded as examples of alternative energy brilliance will benefit no one.
For further information please contact Assemblyman Scharfenberger by clicking here.