In addition, the BCUA conducts computer and electronic collection events during the year throughout the county.  Click here for a calender of events.

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In addition to the BCUA program, the following computer recycling programs are also available for Bergen County residents:

MRM Electronics Recycling Program (Click here for more information.)

Goodwill RECONNECT Electronics Recycling Program (Click here for more information)

STAPLES Computer Recycling (click here for more information)
Office Depot, Inc. Computer Recycling (click here for more information)

Best Buy Electronics Recycling (Click here for more information)      ____________________________________________________________________

For Businesses

The Computer and Electronics Recycling Depot accepts equipment from businesses for a nominal fee. Payment must be made by check only and materials must be received by appointment only. Contact the BCUA Environmental Programs Hotline at (201) 807-5825 for complete details. Click here for fees and additional program information.

Acceptable Materials

• Monitors, CPU’s, printers, keyboards, faxes, copiers, laptops, and components such as hard drives, circuit boards, speakers, modems, motherboards, and power supplies.
• Television sets and VCR’s
• Stereo equipment
• Cellular phones

Location & Hours

Bergen County Utilities Authority
Foot of Empire Boulevard
Moonachie, NJ

Collection hours are 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.

Information from the BCUA website

From residents, the BCUA will accept items such as paints, automotive products, pesticides, aerosols, flammable materials, etc. that are used around your home on a daily basis Placing these items in your trashcan is not an environmentally sound way to dispose of them. Using them up completely is the preferred alternative. To help our environment, more and more communities are asking citizens – on a voluntary basis – to take a few extra steps in the handling and disposal of these hazardous waste items. There is no charge for Bergen County residents to dispose of household hazardous waste material at this program.

The BCUA urges you to participate in this program, which offers a safe alternative for disposal of these materials and helps us create a cleaner and healthier environment in our communities.
If you are not able to wait until the next collection date and want to find out about private contractors to remove HHW or if you need more information about what can be brought to the collections, please use the links below to the BCUA website and publications.

Click here for additional information.

http://www.bcua.org/files/hhw%202012%20flyer.pdf

 
2012 BCUA Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event Dates

Bergen County Utilities Authority, Foot of Empire Blvd., Moonachie

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Bergen County Campgaw Mountain Reservation, 200 Campgaw Rd., Mahwah

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Bergen Community College, 400 Paramus Rd., Paramus

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Sunday, October 14, 2012

HHW event hours are 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, rain or shine

(information from the BCUA website)

Did you notice the striped roadways around town (and surrounding towns and interstates) today? Northern NJ is anticipating its first winter storm and road safety is a top priority. This winter, the DPW is using a brine solution on the roadways in advance of an anticipated storm, to prevent the formation or development of bonded snow and ice on the road surfaces. This anti-icing is proactive and allows for easier plowing and snow removal. De-icing with rock salt will also be done as needed, depending on snowfall rate and total accumulation, as well as on the use and grade (elevation) of the road. The salt–brine used for the anti-icing is a “eutectic solution with 23% salt, by weight”. This solution is made in a large tank in Closter, transferred to a truck based tank, and then piped through 9 nozzles onto the roads.

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Interested in learning more?

Road salts are used mitigate ice and snow conditions on roads and to provide safer road conditions. However, the heavy use of road salts can lead to damage to vegetation, as is most obvious with roadside vegetation damaged by salt splash. They have also been associated with damage to organisms in soil, to birds and to other wildlife. Almost all chloride ions from road salts eventually find their way into waterways, whether by direct runoff into surface water or by moving through the soil and groundwater. In surface water, road salts can harm freshwater plants, fish and other organisms that are not adapted to living in saline waters.
(From a FAQ- Environment Canada- Road Salt)

The following information is from the New Jersey Water Supply Authority Website (http://www.raritanbasin.org/):
In New Jersey, the demand for ice-free roadways and sidewalks has led to an increase in the use of deicing salts. Storm runoff containing road salts used in deicing operations has become a source of contamination of surface and subsurface water bodies and water ways which provide clean water for human consumption. The impact of salt runoff on the environment, and high corrosion rates in highway structures and vehicles have been identified as major issues of concern.
The two most commonly applied deicing salts are sodium chloride and calcium chloride. Although calcium chloride is more effective at melting ice, sodium chloride (rock salt) is used most widely because it is relatively inexpensive and is easier to handle. To improve traction, de-icing salts are usually mixed with abrasives. These abrasives, which include sand, cinders, gravel, and sawdust, can accumulate along roadways and cause drainage problems.
The adverse environmental implications arising from improper use of salt and the proposed regulatory requirements have made many state departments of transportation (DOTs) to take a proactive approach towards controlling storm water runoff containing salt.

Read about Sensible Salting and minimizing the impact on the environment on the Salt Institute/Safe Winter Roads site:

http://www.safewinterroads.org

I was curious to find more information as to how this weather compares to the norm and searched on the internet for the average temperatures in NJ for December and January. What I found was …not the State of the Union (address to be given next week) but the State of the Climate—an official posting of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Climatic Data Center!

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov

The State of the Climate Report is a collection of monthly summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. This is a fascinating site and allows you to plot (and see in a graph form or on a map) all sorts of weather and climate data. The Annual Climate Report for 2011 will be released by NOAA on January 19th (later today).

In my browsing on this site I learned that:

(1) During December 2011 the eastern third of the nation experienced above average temperatures; northern NJ had above average temperatures in November and December and above normal precipitation in December.

(2) New Jersey made the record books for 2011 for annual records broken or tied for 2011 (compiled from the National Weather Service) for
• the Warmest Year on Record (Trenton, NJ- 56.6 ‘F)
• and the Wettest Year on Record (Newark, NJ 69.91” precipitation)

(3) Rutgers University has a Global Snow Monitoring lab (who knew?…another cool site, supported by NASA and NOAA) On this site you can look at maps with current and historical snow cover.http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover .

(4) and I found the link to http://weather.gov/ that has the shows the current national forecast (and an amazing multicolored map).

However, I finally found the information of actual recent temperatures c/w last year on my PSEG bill! These numbers are from the Energy Use Comparison section:
2010-2011     2011-2012
Jan      33                    36
Dec      47                    51
Nov     54                    57

Happy browsing for weather and climate information!
Submitted by MAS

The first CBC was done on Christmas Day of 1900 as an alternative activity to an event called the “side hunt” where people chose sides, then went out and shot as many birds as they could. This will be the 112th annual count.
Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear all day. It’s not just a species tally—all birds are counted all day, giving an indication of the total number of birds in the circle that day. If observers live within a CBC circle, they may arrange in advance to count the birds at their feeders and submit those data to their compiler. All individual CBC’s are conducted in the period from December 14 to January 5 (inclusive dates) each season, and each count is conducted in one calendar day.
The Hackensack/Ridgewood count circle covers Bergen County’s Hudson River towns from Alpine south to the Vince Lombardi rest stop on the NJ Turnpike, and west to Paterson. The count day is December 17th. As per the Audobon site, there are a dozen leaders covering portions of this circle (the closest to HP). If interested to volunteer, please contact David Hall (973-226-7825) or david.hall@einstein.yu.edu and you may also wish to look at the website for Bergen County Audubon Society (click on field trips).
According to David Hall, as reported in the Bergen Record, the count numbers have shown definite patterns over the years; southern birds extend their winter range north into New Jersey and northern birds no longer extend as far south as the Garden State. A bald eagle sighting would have been rare a decade ago, but now these are commonly seen. (He also mentions that the wild turkey population is doing well!).
Please enjoy these photos of bald eagles taken in HP last year by EC and Green Team member Cindy Kennedy.

Another option is the 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) that will be held February 17-20, 2012. The GBBC is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where birds are across the U.S. and Canada. Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online. Each checklist submitted by these citizen scientists helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing – and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, participants turned in more than 92,000 checklists online, creating the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded. Visit the official website at www.birdcount.org for more information.
Please enjoy these photos of bald eagles taken in HP last year by EC and Green Team member Cindy Kennedy.

(Information for this posting is from the Audubon web site FAQ

http://birds.audubon.org/get-involved-christmas-bird-count

and from the Dec 9th Envirowatch article by Bergen Record Staff Writer James M O’Neill)

A large number of wild animals and birds live in the woods and watersheds surrounding Harrington Park and many of them visit or make their homes in our yards. White-tailed deer are seen frequently. Bird feeders attract various birds, as grey squirrels, and eastern chipmunks, as well as larger animals and birds that prey on them.
These photos of creatures great and small were shared by an Eastbrook resident whose property borders the woods leading to the Hackensack River. All the photographs were taken in her yard in the past year and a half. Many animals and birds visit her three backyard birdfeeders; other animals are just “passing through”. Pictured: White tailed deer, red fox, Eastern Coyote and wild turkeys.

“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.” —Seattle, Chief of Duwamish, Suquamish and Allied Tribes, 1854 (posted on the Flat Rock Brook nature center website)

For more information about northern NJ wildlife, please look at this website: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/chklists.htm
Or visit a local nature center and speak with a naturalist.
The closest nature center to HP is the Closter Nature Center a:t 145 Ruckman Road, Closter NJ 201-750-2778.

http://www.closternaturecenter.org/website/index.html

Rockland Electric Company delivers electricity to Harrington Park customers. All Rockland Electric customers who reside in Bergen County Customers have the choice of receiving their energy supply from this utility company or from alternate energy suppliers. The New Jersey Clean Power Choice Program, from the Board of Public Utilities’ Office of Clean Energy, supports the development of clean, renewable sources of energy. Basically, a customer who chooses to participate will pay an additional charge to help support generating plants that use renewable resources to produce clean energy, from solar power, wind power, low-impact or small hydro power, and landfill gas power. Rockland Electric continues to deliver the energy; the bill from Rockland Electric will include an additional CleanPower charge as a separate line item from the CleanPower Choice supplier that you sign up with. (For more information, please call 1-866-NJSMART, or visit the New Jersey CleanPower Web site).

The wet snow and gusting winds from the Oct 29th Nor’easter brought down electric lines throughout Harrington Park and surrounding towns. Many residents became very familiar with the Orange & Rockland customer service number, 1-887-434-4100 and the website www.oru.com in the hours and days following the storm to report outages and check the local map to learn about estimated times for repairs.

The Orange & Rockland website has many more features and it is worth the time to explore what this site has to offer, if you are looking for ways to save energy and money.

The Oct/Nov @home with Rockland Electric bill insert (accessible from http://www.oru.com/programsandservices/customerpublications/ and mailed to customers with their paper October bill) has brief articles about several topics, including-

The eBill option: This is a “free and easy way to receive, view and pay your monthly bill online while reducing paper waste”. A tree will be planted by the National Arbor Day Foundation on behalf of each customer who enrolls in this billing option.
Who’s is responsible for what? If a storm damages your home’s overhead electric service, know that Rockland Electric is responsible for the glass electric meter and the service wire from the street to the connection point on your home. Removal of tree limbs interfering with the service wire and repair of any damage to all of the hardware on the house, including the meter pan, is the responsibility of the homeowner.
How to get ready for winter: Tips include: tune up your heating system, install a programmable thermostat, plug leaks, insulate your attic, use caulking and weather stripping, and seal heating and cooling ducts … www.oru.com/powerofgreen

The newsletter mentions a very interesting online tool, the O& R’s HomeEnergy Calculator, which is accessed from the customer account page. Your own account information and the information you supply in a brief survey are used to generate a personalized home energy audit. The report includes personalized cost saving recommendations, great graphics, and your home’s carbon footprint! Try this- it is easy to use and the information may help you save $ this year!!

(Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc; look at this website for more “green” tips.)

DPW chief Mark Kiernan estimates that >50 power lines were affected in Harrington Park. Power is still out for many residents on Nov 2nd. Rockland Electric is removing the branches and trees on power lines. Homeowners are responsible for bringing large branches and tree limbs to the curb (and there are piles of large branches and tree limbs on the curbs by most of the homes in town!). The priority of the HP DPW now is to chip these branches and clear the roadways.

Vegetative waste pickup ended for the year on October 31st and will resume in on April 1st.

Leaves should be raked to the curb and will be collected by the DPW into December. (Hopefully all the snow will melt soon and allow for more leaf vacuuming; the focus is on branch chipping at present).

The wood chips are stored in Norwood and used by the HP DPW as needed for town trees on municipal and park property.  2/3rd of the HP leaves stay in HP and 1/3 go to Norwood; these are composted, for future town use and sale to residents…look for the next sale of two year composted leaves in April 2012.

Harrington Park School participated in the 2011 Walk to School Day on Friday October7th. Students were encouraged to walk or bike to school. Principal Jessica Nitzberg sent emails to the school community about this event and it was promoted on HP TV. Luckily October 7th turned out to be a beautiful fall Friday! Peter, the HP patrolman stationed on Harriot Street, noted that there were fewer cars in the morning and afternoon queues. According to Tom, the HP Crossing Guard stationed across from the school, a number of students walk to school every day, even in inclement weather. He saw some new faces in addition to the “regulars”. Vice Principal Ross Herbert commented on the enthusiasm of the walkers and bikers that he greeted on the blacktop.

According to the Walk to School Web site ( www.walktoschool.org), communities are using the walk or bike to school as the first step to change community culture and create environments that are more inviting for everyone, young and old. Here are some reasons to support walking and biking to school:
To enhance the health of kids
Increased physical activity can combat a host of health problems facing kids today.
To improve air quality and the environment
Replacing car trips to school with walking or bicycling can help reduce air pollution.
To create safer routes for walking and bicycling
Sidewalks, education programs and traffic calming measures are some of the ways to improve conditions.

Submitted by MAS