At Monday’s Chestertown Town Council meeting, Environmental Committee Chair Jenny Lee Freeberry and fellow committee members presented an overview of current initiatives and outlined a series of requests aimed at strengthening the town’s sustainability efforts.
Freeberry began by emphasizing that the committee is a volunteer group focused on “careful stewardship and wise use of our natural resources,” working to make the town more sustainable in the places residents “live, work, and play.” The committee operates through four subcommittees: Energy & Transportation; Waste & Recycling, Water & Habitat, and Earth Day, and publishes a monthly newsletter with more than 700 subscribers.
Among the committee’s ongoing energy initiatives are support for local solar projects, expansion of electric vehicle charging stations, and continued energy efficiency upgrades such as LED lighting and improved heating and cooling systems. Kent County currently leads the Eastern Shore in the number of EV charging stations, a point Freeberry noted is particularly important for a tourism-driven town.
The Waste & Recycling subcommittee highlighted its highly visible farmers market booth, which collects hard-to-recycle materials. Last year alone, volunteers collected more than 3,000 pounds of bottle caps, bread tabs, and similar plastics. Those materials are sent to a Delaware company and transformed into benches—more than 20 of which are now installed across the county. The booth also recycled over 1,000 pounds of batteries and accepts a wide range of specialty items including toothbrushes, wine corks, Brita filters, and cosmetics.
Composting has become another major initiative. A public drop-off site near Washington College allows residents to compost food scraps including meat and dairy that would not typically be suitable for backyard composting. Freeberry noted that food waste is one of the heaviest components of municipal trash and that diverting it reduces tipping fees. The committee is exploring potential partnerships that could expand composting operations locally and hopes to coordinate a spring compost distribution event for residents and town projects.
Also, Chestertown was recently designated a Bird City Maryland community and has earned a Sustainable Maryland Silver Award, one of only three municipalities on the Eastern Shore to hold that designation. Projects underway include plans for chimney swift towers, purple martin habitat, and small pollinator “Slice of Life” plantings designed to replace low-value turf grass with native habitat.
Freeberry also discussed changes in mosquito management. The town has moved away from blanket insecticide spraying and instead promotes targeted mosquito dunks that kill larvae without harming pollinators or birds. The approach, she said, reduces ecological damage while addressing mosquito populations more effectively.
The Committee asked the Council to consider several policy actions.
Chief among them is restoring curbside recycling. The committee proposed shifting from two weekly trash pickups to one trash day and one recycling day, potentially using the current hauler and seeking grant funding for a split recycling truck. Freeberry argued that separating materials would increase their resale value and reduce tipping fees. Council members noted that logistical constraints regarding collection and processing would need to be addressed.
Other requests included website access to create a committee microsite within the town’s existing web platform; indoor storage space for bulky recyclables currently housed at a volunteer’s residence; renewal of the town’s Sustainable Maryland certification; and development of a formal Climate Action Plan and carbon footprint analysis.
The committee also urged passage of a proposed meadow ordinance that would allow managed native plantings exceeding the current eight-inch vegetation limit, as well as retrofitting upward-facing lights to reduce light pollution and establishing designated no-mow or low-mow zones in appropriate areas.
Freeberry concluded by inviting residents and council members to attend the 16th annual Earth Day celebration on April 25 in Park Row.