Newark is working to become a “greener" community every day. Every little bit helps. Some projects are grand in scale and have a community-wide effect while others are small in-house changes the City makes in the way it operates and does business. The following is an example of initiatives, projects, and programs enacted by the City in order to reduce our carbon footprint and increase conservation and environmental awareness.

• 40 plus years of labor and equipment-intensive leaf collections;
• 30 plus years of grass collections;
• 30 plus years of bulk metal collections;
• 30 plus years of Christmas tree collections, chopping & mulching;
• 10 plus years of tire collections;
• 10 plus years of construction and demolition material collections;

The above items are estimated to represent over 40,000 tons of diversion from the landfill over the last 15 years.

• Purchase of remanufactured tires for our larger equipment (dump, refuse, line trucks) which represents between a 25% to 30% savings;
• Partnership in the provision of free Unicity bus service since 1980 within our community, thereby promoting mass transit;
• Yard waste collection, storage, mulching and free availability to community;
• Newark Energy Watch – Community Development Block Grant Program administered by the
• Newark Senior Center for low income residents (energy audits/upgrades);
• Municipal Building paper recycling;
• Adoption of the LEED - Energy Efficiency Conservation Program for buildings;
• Green Energy Funds for McKees Park Solar Project;
• Implementation of a residential single-stream curbside recycling program;
• Instituting acceptance of online bill payments and electronic billing reducing the amount of paper being used;
• Installation of energy efficient lighting and windows within the Municipal Building and Police Department facilities;
• UDon’t Need It? Student Move Out Program;
• Purchase of hybrid vehicles as fleet vehicles need to be replaced;
• Anti-Idling Ordinance;
• Encouraging alternative methods of transportation by developing a transportation plan that makes Newark a bicycle friendly community:
• Some currently active initiatives and programs include development of the trail system in Newark that is convenient and easy to use for bikers and walkers, installing “sharrows” on Main Street to help motorists and cyclists safely share and navigate the street, and a walkable downtown.