Officials are in the initial phases of coordinating engineering, outreach and in-house programs to develop a plan that would bring the township in line with and designate itself as a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Community. By becoming a member of the EPA’s Green Communities initiative, the township would have more accessibility to grants pertaining to sustainability, have more tools to control green development and be more guided on how to reach out to business owners and residents on the benefits of going green.

"A, it’s the right thing to do and B, why wait when we can start today because towns need to be thinking out of the box and we need to be doing things that are preserving the environment of the town, which will also preserve the economy of the town," said Public Works Commissioner Brian Haggerty. "You have to think of non-traditional means to get things done."

The program

The EPA Green Communities program had halted officially designating U.S. communities with the "Green Community" stamp of approval in 2006. But it is back in business and is taking applications and plans from towns. If accepted in the program, the towns are assisted financially and technically with getting those plans from the idealistic to materialistic state.

"This isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight, maybe not in six months to a year, but we have to get the process going…there’s really no use in waiting," said Haggerty.

At the time the program halted officially calling a town or region a Green Community, which was simply a presentation of recognition for their efforts, only six nationwide had achieved the designation from 1997 to 2006, most from rural portions of Pennsylvania.

Edward Linky, a senior energy policy adviser at the EPA’s Region 2 office, said the federal environmental entity has partnered with nearly 80 consortiums on sustainability for assistance and grants for towns and regions desiring a green approach and that excludes what’s offered by the state. New Jersey has some of the most comprehensive financial assistance and planning programs for sustainable and smart growth from the Department of Community Affairs Office of Smart Growth to the Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program.

"Washington, New Jersey, they are constantly creating programs to complement the green approach," said Linky. "When you’re talking about a ‘green community’ now, there are programs relative from Energy Star and smart growth to pollution prevention and sustainability."

Initiatives

According to Haggerty, the township is well on its way to going green, but much is yet to be done. He said he realizes that although they are still brainstorming ideas on the first steps of the Green Communities program and a full out action plan won’t be seen for months if in this year, there are small steps the township is taking now.

First is the expansion of the recycling program. The department of public works has just created an innovative shoot at its yard for residents to drop off household batteries. Soon, he hopes to create another for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and cooking grease. He said these three alone are some of the most heavily discarded in regular garbage. However, batteries contain acid, CFLs contain mercury and cooking grease is usually dumped down the drain, clogging and corroding sewer pipes.

"Now, the BCUA [Bergen County Utilities Authority] offers the hazardous waste pickup days, but most people are not going to get in their car and drive to the drop-off locations on a Saturday and drop this off," said Haggerty. "The most conscientious of people will, but most people are too busy, don’t know any better or just aren’t interested."

Haggerty is also looking to get the township on the ground floor of using a cold cathode light bulb being developed by a company a Lyndhurst resident distributes for. The bulb, which is now getting tested for Energy Star certification, uses less wattage, lights at less heat, lasts longer and is wet-rated for outdoor use. Haggerty said although there has only been preliminary discussion, his hopes are that the company will donate enough for free to initially light Stuyvesant Avenue and around Town Hall Park. The exchange would allow Lyndhurst to say they are the first to use the new technology and get the company publicity at the same time.

"This is the light bulb of the future. They say LED lighting has about three or four years where it can be feasible to be made into regular lighting, but the other thing is LED lighting runs very hot. These are ambient, last 15,000 hours and will help us cut our electric costs, which are in the 100s of thousands annually," he said.

Another approach right now is a heavy campaign the town will begin embarking on within the next couple months called "Buy Local, Dine Local, Stay Local". Under the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce, a township business merchant’s committee has recently been formed and along with elected officials, the merchants themselves will be giving ideas as to how to keep Lyndhurst residents in Lyndhurst.

"We need to come up with a lot of new, novel ideas and we’re working with local merchants to see what can improve commerce," said Haggerty. "There’s enough little businesses in town to keep people in town…they’re not using gas and supporting the local business community."

Benefits

As a Green Community, Lyndhurst would not only be more accessible to sustainability grants, but being green itself, according to Haggerty, could open the doors for new stakeholders in the community, not to mention saving money for taxpayers. Since re-initiating the recycling program a little over two years ago, Haggerty said garbage tonnage is down 3,000 tons. At nearly $80 a ton now to dispose of garbage at the landfill, that equals $240,000 in savings. But it’s not all about savings, said Haggerty; it’s about using green benefits to entice those that embrace green into the community, such as promoting, or even possibly requiring LEED building.

"If we’re going to start going green, then we’re going to help builders that would be getting subsidies from the government as a result of the LEED program and then that would hopefully attract new builders into the community, new businesses into the community," he said. "It’s good for the environment, good for the local economy and it’s good public relations for the town."

Linky said although grants are out there, the town could also look beyond the monetary benefits and benefit from an array of resources to help them develop a comprehensive action plan and how to navigate cost consuming green purchases such as solar and methane or ethanol. The grants are just a bonus, he said.

"I wouldn’t say it’s direct grants, but take our Energy Star program for example, if towns decide they are going to go LEED, they can earn all credits using Energy Star tools and in turn, we can provide performance contracting, financing workshops and recognition," said Linky. "If a town presents us with a plan and commitment to switching garbage trucks from gas to run on methane, we could award them funds to help them do that."