Twp: Volunteers Needed to Give Out CFL Bulbs

The township seeks volunteers to help distribute compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs to Wyckoff residents.

The campaign is a partnership with the nonprofit Project Porchlight organization, which works in coordination with New Jersey's Clean Energy Program and is funded by the Board of Public Utilities to promote energy efficiency.

According to the nonprofit, CFL bulbs last five to seven years, saving the purchase of approximately eight incandescent bulbs over the same time span. The bulbs they hand out are 13-watt CFLs, equivalent in brightness to a 60-watt incandescent.

Volunteers will be needed at 9 a.m. Sept. 11 in the second floor conference room in Wyckoff Town Hall, 340 Franklin Ave., rain or shine. As organized by the Wyckoff Environmental Commission, volunteers (only those 18 and older) will be going door-to-door distributing CFL bulbs to residents.

Volunteers are asked to write wyckoffbooth@wyckoff-nj.com and provide a name and address in advance, as the township must notify Project Porchlight of the number of volunteers in order to provide sufficient CFL bulbs. Volunteers will receive a brief program orientation and an area assignment where they will distribute the bulbs as well as Nifty Fifty program information door-to-door.

Nifty Fifty is a township initiative that encourages residents to reduce their household waste by recycling more. The effort aims to bring Wyckoff's recycling rate, currently 30 to 35 percent, up to 50 percent, which will both reduce waste and save money. Increased recycling means less taxpayer money spent on trucking garbage to a landfill 85 miles away in Pennsylvania.

Residents can help the effort by taking simple measures such as placing covers on their garbage cans to keep garbage dry, as wet refuse costs more to haul. Additionally, the Recycling Center on West Main Street accepts newspapers, magazines, cardboard, metal and aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles and all paper. Residents also can take their old appliances to the center or arrange for Wednesday curbside pickup by calling 201-891-7000, ext. 101.

Each household will receive one bulb during the door-to-door campaign. Township administration asks that residents do not call Town Hall for the bulbs, as they will only be distributed by the volunteers on Sept. 11.