WHEREAS, the Town of West New York ("Town") seeks to protect
the socioeconomic status, the environment, and the health and safety
of its citizens, staff and visitors; and
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WHEREAS, the Town seeks to purchase products to reduce overall
consumption and products with reduced life cycle impact, and support
local and diverse businesses; and
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WHEREAS, the Town seeks to purchase products that include recycled
content, are durable and long-lasting, conserve energy and water,
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, are lead-free and mercury-free, and
use wood from sustainably harvested forests (FSC) when and where possible;
and
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WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2, the Town has the power
to adopt ordinances necessary and proper for the protection of persons
and property, and the preservation of the public health, safety and
welfare; and
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WHEREAS, the objectives of this article are to:
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Conserve natural resources;
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Minimize environmental impacts such as pollution and use of
water and energy;
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Eliminate or reduce toxins that create hazards to workers and
our community;
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Support strong recycling markets;
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Reduce materials that are routinely land filled or disposed
of;
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Increase the use and availability of environmentally preferable
products that protect the environment;
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Identify environmentally preferable products and associated
distribution systems;
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Reward manufacturers and vendors with contracts that reduce
environmental impacts in their production and distribution systems
or services;
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Collect and maintain up-to-date information regarding manufacturers,
vendors and other sources for locating/ordering environmentally preferable
products;
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Create a model for successful purchasing of environmentally
preferable products that encourages other purchasers in our community
to adopt similar goals; and
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WHEREAS, the Town's purchasing department and members of
the Green Team shall research, evaluate, and implement the environmental
purchasing objectives. The Green Team Committee shall focus its research,
evaluation and the implementation of the policy in the following areas:
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Recycled content products (e.g., paper products, playground/recreation
equipment, toner/printer cartridges, motor oils and lubricants, furniture,
carpets and flooring materials, matting, plastic/composite lumber/building
materials, trash bags, parking stops, ceiling tiles, etc.);
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Less harmful and nontoxic materials and processes (e.g., janitorial/cleaning
products, pest management chemicals, phosphates, paint, solvents,
fuels, etc.);
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Energy- and water-efficient products and processes (e.g., solar
applications, energy-efficient lighting, ENERGY STAR® appliances, water-saving devices, vehicles and motorized equipment,
etc.);
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Natural resource and landscaping management (e.g., integrated
pest and vegetation management, drought tolerant/indigence plants
and shrubs, recycled mulches and natural compost, etc.);
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Renewable products (e.g., FSC certified forests products, renewable
energy resources, etc.);
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Disposal and pollution reduction (e.g., integrated waste management,
duplex copies, retread tires, reusable holiday trees, etc.);
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Packaging (e.g., reusable boxes, recycled packing materials,
bulk packaging, etc.);
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Green building program (e.g., using recycled products in the
construction and renovation, disposal of building materials in an
environmentally sensitive manner, designing and renovating for energy
and resources conservation);
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WHEREAS, the Town is aware that the evaluation and implementation
phases of this article will require changes in awareness, behaviors,
practices, and operating procedures, and to the extent possible, it
is the Town's intention to have a participative process as it
researches, evaluates, and implements the environmentally preferable
purchasing procedures:
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