Environment
Across the county and across the country, the environment has become a hot topic. Garfield Township works with a number of local agencies to develop environmentally sensitive planning policies, to contract for Township-owned natural area management, and to provide natural resource preservation and restoration. Our partners include the Grand Traverse Conservation District, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, and The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay.
What can you do to be more environmentally friendly? Here are some ideas!
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Grand Traverse County offers the "Recycle Smart" program, which is a collection of Resource Recovery programs including Curbside Recycling, Household Hazardous Waste, Take It Back, Brush Drop-off Site, Batter Collection, Educational Presentations, and Solid Waste Management. By County Ordinance, all residents within the Curbside Recycling District may receive free curbside recycling from your hazardous waste hauler. You may need to contact your hauler to be request a recycling "subscription." Related links: If you live in a neighborhood, consider a neighborhood association contract with one waste hauler to collect each residence's trash on the same day, rather than a number of different haulers picking up the trash from select residents on varying days. Contracting with one hauler will reduce the number of trash pickup vehicle trips (and therefore carbon emissions), may result in lower pickup rates, and reduces traffic and noise in your neighborhood. Fertilizer - many lawns are over-fertilized with non-environmentally friendly products, leading to excess phosphorous in our streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater. Excess phosphorous in our water bodies leads to algal blooms and pervasive weeds, each of which can be harmful to aquatic life, not to mention the aesthetic quality of our rivers and lakes! When shopping, look to purchase organic or phosphorous-free varieties (phosphorous is the middle number on the 3-number string on the fertilizer bag, with the others being nitrogen and potash). Make sure to following the proper application schedule and practices, and to sweep up any fertilizer that is left on your driveway or sidewalk. Herbicides - again, look to purchase organic varieties that will naturally biodegrade. Herbicide that is made from corn gluten meal is a proven pre-emergent organic product. One source of organic fertilizer for your garden is a compost bin, which you can create in as small or large of a variety as you want. Composting yard waste and leftover household organic waste saves material from being sent to landfills and makes great homemade fertilizer!
Owners of property along wetlands, lakes, and streams should consider establishing or preserving a riparian buffer. A riparian buffer is an area of vegetation left between the developed portions of your building site and the features listed above. Riparian buffers dramatically increase filtration of polluted storm water runoff before it reaches a water body, provide shade (cooler water!) and aquatic life habitat, and stabilize stream banks against erosion. Please visit the Watershed Center's Riparian Buffer Page for additional information!
Washing your vehicle on the lawn rather than on the driveway allows soap residue, oils, brake dust, and road grime that are washed off to filter into the soil rather than washing down the pavement to storm water drainage systems. Unlike indoor household sanitary sewer systems that lead to treatment centers, storm water drains lead directly into our streams, rivers, wetlands, and Lake Michigan.
Also consider using commercial car washes, which use less water than hand washing and send their water to the sewer system to be treated before release back into the environment. Finally, a variety of biodegradable car soaps are available for purchase, or you may create your own environmentally friendly car wash by mixing one cup of liquid dishwashing detergent and 3/4 cup of powdered laundry detergent (each should be chlorine- and phosphate-free and non-petroleum-based) with three gallons of water.
When considering blacktop resurfacing, two main options are available: coal tar-based sealant, and asphalt-based sealant. The coal tar sealant contains a high concentration of chemicals (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs) that are harmful to surface and ground water when the rain washes over blacktop and into streams, rivers, and the bay.
The environmental consequences of coal tar-based sealants are significant enough that many cities have banned their use - some studies indicate that concentrations of PAHs given off by coal tar parking lots are 100 times higher than used motor oil. If your driveway or parking lot needs to be resealed, consider purchasing asphalt-based sealant or using a contractor who does not use coal tar-based sealants. LEED is a progressive development technique to help you create a sustainable building site or redevelopment site. As a business owner, developing your site by following these guidelines (or even some of them!) can make your building more energy efficient, make the site more environmentally friendly, and create an attractive package for businesses looking for a new home. Lower energy costs, along with the "it" factor, enables property owners to sell or lease their building at a higher than average rate. The fundamentals of LEED include energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. For additional information on LEED, please visit the following websites: The primary goal of Low Impact Development (LID) is to mimic the natural storm water pattern of a site to reduce runoff water and pollutants, including managing runoff completely on site (as opposed to sending it to the sewer) through a series of progressive management techniques. LID techniques include rain gardens, minimization of impervious surfaces, preserving and planting native vegetation, green roofs, and water harvesting and re-use, among many more. For developers, substantial cost savings are possible, as the above techniques reduce the amount of area that must be dedicated to traditional storm water basins. In addition, because less land is used than for traditional storm water infrastructure, more room is left on the site for development purposes. As a homeowner, benefits include increased property values, a nicer-looking property, and the satisfaction of doing your part to help increase the watershed's health. The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay has assembled an award-winning document on LID, named A Natural Solution. Clicking the link will open the document. For additional information on LID, please visit the following websites: Did you know that the Federal government is offering tax credits of up to 30% of the value of qualified alternative energy systems though 2016? Qualifying systems include geothermal heating, solar power, and wind energy. As these systems are quite expensive, many people find that installing a system at the time your home is built and rolling the cost into the mortgage is most manageable for your wallet. Upgrading the energy efficiency of your home, including appliances, HVAC, windows, and insulation, is also eligible for tax credits through 2009 and 2010. For additional information, please visit the following websites:
It's fun, it's exercise, it saves you money, and it reduces carbon emissions!
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