East Orange, NJ Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

East Orange added its open burning article to Chapter 94, Air Pollution, in 1972 by Ordinance No. 33-1972. Three separate prohibitions apply inside city limits: § 94-9 bars any salvage operation conducted by open burning, § 94-10 bars burning rubbish, garbage, trade waste, or entire buildings and structures, and § 94-11 bars burning any type of plant life, covering leaves, brush and yard debris. The ban applies to every property owner, tenant and contractor in East Orange, not just commercial operators. Only two narrow carve-outs exist under § 94-12: a variance issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection under the State Air Pollution Control Code, or burning refuse for training or research exercises conducted at a permanent facility built solely for that purpose.

Neither exception covers a resident burning fall leaves or construction debris in a backyard barrel. The Director of Air Pollution Control, a position created by § 94-3 with the Board of Health's concurrent enforcement authority under N.J.S.A. 26:3-90, administers the chapter and can send officers to investigate complaints. Waste disposal in East Orange instead runs through the Chapter 156 solid waste collection program or a permitted incinerator under Article VII of Chapter 94, which requires a City Clerk-issued permit, an annual fee, and restricted 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. operating hours; unpermitted incinerators can be sealed by the Director.