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As explained in this press release, environmental activists in Calhoun County have signed paperwork to begin clean up of local waterways:

"The Phase I cleanup requires the excavation of soils and removal of plants that are littered with plastic nurdles. The soils removed will fill 1,824 20-yard dump trucks – approximately 32,840 tons of soil and debris. A nurdle is a hard, small, spherical pellet, about the size of a baby aspirin and is produced from petrochemicals. Nurdles are used in the manufacture of plastics."

As outlined in this brief article by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, energy consumption by New York City alone has dropped significantly more than the surrounding areas. On a prima-facie observation, one could say the foregoing alleviates stress on the existing energy infrastructures. However, deeper analyses should consider the repercussions that demanding less energy may have on production, supply, and distribution, as well as transitions between larger and smaller electric microgrids. Given energy infrastructures in the United States are already vulnerable, can it be really said the pandemic alleviates stress on the existing energy infrastructures when everybody is connected to the internet and is generally using more technology at home?

In this article, it is comparing how polluted Newark is compared to the country mentioning facts such as Newark residents face the nation's second greatest risk due to diesel emissions, the city being the nation's largest trash incinerator in the Northeast, and 25% of the school children in Newark face asthma which is double compared to the nation's average rate. 

The new initiative mentioned in the article wants to enhance Environmental Justice, good stewardship, and suistainable economic development by protecting the health of the residents in Newark, minimizing pollution, and by encouraging development that does affects Newark positively.