How To Dispose of Waste in NJ

How to Get Rid of Waste in New Jersey

Are you wondering what to do with your ordinary household garbage in New Jersey? Trash removal can be tricky in some areas due to each municipality having its own rules and regulations. This guide will help you understand how to dispose of your garbage and everyday junk safely, easily and effectively in the Garden State.

1. Regular Trash

Most New Jersey communities have one regular garbage pickup day per week. Check your local website to see when your neighborhood’s scheduled day occurs. Place your cans or bins outside your home within four feet of the street the morning of your pickup day or after 5:30 p.m. the evening before.

Once your bins have been emptied, they need to be removed from the curb within 12 hours.

2. Bulk Garbage

Bulk trash is any item you can’t include on a normal trash day — furniture, flooring, appliances, car parts and liquids. Luckily for residents of New Jersey, most communities offer one day per month to collect these bulk garbage items.

On your neighborhood’s bulk trash pickup day, place the items on an automated cart — each household has one. Any garbage not on a cart will not be collected and will have a tag with a warning attached. Warnings will be followed up with fines if not corrected.

What you should know about your bulk items before tossing them out:

• Carpet and Wood Flooring: Scraps must weigh less than 50 pounds and be cut into pieces four feet long or less.
• Furniture: Simply place old furniture at the curb to be picked up.
• Car Batteries, Motor Oil and Anti-Freeze: Car batteries can be set at the curb, while motor oil and anti-freeze must be in a clearly marked container indicating “used motor oil” or “used anti-freeze.”
• Metal and Household Appliances: This category includes bed frames, window frames, water heaters, washers and dryers and ovens. You can place these items at the curb.

3. Recyclables

New Jersey makes recycling easy — simply place all your eligible recyclable items in one bin without the hassle of sorting glass from plastics or paper. The ideal recyclable materials are metal, paper, glass and plastic.

Don’t try to recycle the following items:

• Glass with food waste, stones or dirt in it
• Heat-resistant glass
• Broken pieces of mixed colored glass
• Glass from mirrors or windows
• Crystal
• Lightbulbs
• Ceramics
• Metal or plastic caps
• Cathode ray tubes often found in televisions or computer monitors

4. Medications

Disposing of your old or unused medications is crucial to maintaining public safety. New Jersey has implemented “Project Medicine Drop,” where residents can dispose of their medications anonymously at their local police station seven days per week, 365 days per year.

5. Electronics

Did you know your electronics contain toxic chemicals? Because of these chemicals, you need to be careful when throwing away motherboards, computers, game consoles, fax machines, printers, copiers, televisions and DVD or VHS players.

When tossing your old electronics, ensure you’ve cleared all personal information from them — if possible — to prevent identity theft. Check your municipality’s website to learn when your neighborhood’s electronics pick-up day is scheduled.

6. Compostables

Throughout several seasons per year, you’re faced with an increased amount of grass clippings or leaf buildup. Composting is a great alternative for this waste — versus including it in your garbage — that promotes an economical and environmentally-friendly solution.

You have several options with this form of waste. You can either use them as compost in your own yard to provide a healthy outdoor space or utilize one of New Jersey’s 200 composting facilities to recycle your yard clippings.

The Best Solution for Your Garbage Removal Needs

If you’re in the Middlesex,  Monmouth, Somerset, Essex, Union, Mercer or Ocean County areas and need a safe, clean and reliable garbage removal solution, contact the professionals at Hometown Waste. We pride ourselves on offering a variety of dumpsters with prompt and easy customer service for your construction, estate cleaning or preservation project.

Learn more about our services today and experience how simple your garbage removal can be. Call us at (732) 525-2555 or complete our online contact form.