Trenton, NJ Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Trenton's open-burning ban sits in Chapter 6, Air Pollution, adopted by the City Council on September 7, 1967 as § 9-3 of the Revised General Ordinances. Section 6-2, Open burning prohibited, states flatly that no person may cause, suffer, allow or permit open burning of refuse, conduct a salvage operation by open burning, or use open fires to supply heat to tar or asphalt kettles. Unlike the chapter's smoke-density rules in § 6-3, which carve out narrow exceptions for cleaning a fire box or a new locomotive fire measured against the Ringelmann Smoke Chart, § 6-2 contains no exceptions at all: it applies citywide regardless of lot size, wind conditions or time of day.

Enforcement runs through the Health Officer under § 6-9, who may investigate complaints, inspect any installation or equipment that could cause air pollution, and issue a written notice of violation by personal service, certified mail, or, if neither works, by posting the notice on the premises. If a violation cannot be immediately corrected, the Health Officer may grant a compliance grace period of up to six months, extendable once for an additional six months for good cause; failing to comply once that grace period lapses is itself a separate violation.

Interfering with or refusing to permit a Health Officer inspection is also barred under § 6-9(A). Because the chapter dates to 1967 and has not been narrowed since, Trenton residents cannot legally burn brush, leaves, construction debris or trash piles in the open.