New Jersey is one of the most environmentally friendly states in the nation, according to a WalletHub report that ranks the Garden State 12th in the nation.

Analyst Jill Gonzalez says New Jersey is doing its part to stem its emissions of gasses responsible for climate change, ranking 7th in that category.

One area where New Jersey could really improve, Gonzalez says, is its municipal solid waste per capita.

"There's still a lot of waste there, not as much recycling as some other states are doing. It ranked 32nd in that specific metric overall."

And because of its high waste level, this affects other environmental factors, such as the quality of air and drinking water.

Gonzalez says air quality is not the best, ranking 33rd overall in that metric.

 

"Drinking water was just about half. About 6 percent of the population was potentially exposed to water with a drinking violation in the past year."

Soil quality is middle of the road in New Jersey, ranking 27th in the survey.

She says the East Coast may be congested but there are more opportunities to use public transportation, slicing the amount of pollutants from cars being emitted into the air.

When it comes to walking places and biking places, New Jersey has options. In fact, that's where the Northeast as a whole pulls ahead.

There are plenty of opportunities to make New Jersey greener as well, she added, such as tax incentive programs for people who want to make their home a little greener. Many are installing solar panels.

Vermont is the greenest state in the nation followed by Massachusetts and Oregon. Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island also make the top 10. The least green state is Wyoming, followed by Montana and West Virginia.

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