Delaware County staff report EV chargers, recycling training, tree-canopy mapping and outreach plans

Delaware County sustainability staff reported a series of operational and outreach updates at the March Sustainability Commission meeting, including the installation of county EV chargers, steps to improve recycling at county buildings, an ongoing tree-canopy study and plans for public events during Earth Month.

Becca Jurkovich, sustainability staff for Delaware County, said the county has installed five electric-vehicle charging stations in the Orange Street parking lot in Media and two additional chargers at Rose Street Park; the initial stations are reserved for county vehicles while the county builds sufficient network capacity. "They are currently reserved for county vehicles only, but it was much needed infrastructure upgrade to support our EV fleet," Jurkovich said.

Other facility and operations changes Jurkovich described include adjusting building lighting schedules, a custodial-staff recycling retraining session, and a dual-cart system procurement to reduce contamination during pickup. Jurkovich said the county plans a supply swap during Earth Week so departments can reuse surplus supplies rather than discard them.

Workforce and grants

Jurkovich said the county received nine internship applications and is screening candidates with the goal of hiring by April for a May start. She said the sustainability coordinator position (a backfill) has been posted with a lowered experience requirement; the job will be open through April 13 at delcopa.gov/jobs.

Infrastructure and studies

- Tree canopy: Jurkovich said a consultant is finalizing mapping data that will be available at both the census block-group and municipal scales to show how canopy has changed over time.

- Shared energy manager: The county is participating in a PADEP program to plan charging-infrastructure placement and future shared services to support both the county fleet and potential public access.

Recycling and waste operations

Jurkovich said facilities is purchasing a dual-cart system and will train custodial staff in March to reduce contamination and improve separation during collection. She said a county-led pilot will begin to clarify recycling practices in courthouse and government-center facilities.

Community events and outreach

Jurkovich highlighted the Keep Delco Beautiful cleanup scheduled for the coming weekend at Sun Village Park in Chester, saying about 52 volunteers had signed up so far. The county is hosting the event with 11 partner organizations, offering a free pizza lunch and tabling opportunities for local groups. A county planner present at the meeting said the planning department will also be at the cleanup to provide information about a county air-monitoring project in partnership with DEP.

Conference planning and public programs

On the county's virtual sustainability conference, Jurkovich said organizers have confirmed speakers for topics including sustainable homeowners associations, environmental health, cumulative impact assessments, urban agriculture and a municipal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. Jurkovich said the commission is still seeking speakers on transportation and zero-waste basics and invited commissioners to propose sessions and preferred time slots (lunch-hour and evening sessions were discussed).

Other notes

Jurkovich said the county's LED lighting project (funded through the federal Inflation Reduction Act via the Department of Energy) remains paused, and that the county received a $500 mini-grant for the Saturday cleanup event. She also said toner-recycling options through a vendor will allow departments to clear long-stored supplies.

Ending: Jurkovich asked commissioners to help recruit volunteers, presenters and applicants for internships and the posted sustainability coordinator position and said staff will circulate follow-up materials and a draft conference itinerary after the meeting.