Piscataway, NJ Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Cooking exemption
- Grills burning charcoal, wood, gas, or LP
- Covers
- Cooking or heating food only
- Still applies
- State Smoke Control, Air Pollution Codes
- No separate permit
- Grill exemption needs no Township application
- Separate exception
- Fire pits covered by a different clause
Summary
Piscataway Township's open-burning ban carves out an exception for cooking: § 10-12.1b(6) allows an outdoor grill burning charcoal, seasoned dry wood, natural gas, or liquified petroleum gas for cooking or heating food, even though open burning is otherwise banned Township-wide under § 10-12.1a. Grills and smokers using those fuels for cooking still must follow the state Smoke Control and Air Pollution Control Codes under § 10-12.2.
Except as herein provided, the burning of any material of any kind, solid or liquid, including, but not limited to, the burning of household waste, out-of-doors, is prohibited everywhere in the Township. b. The aforesaid prohibition does not apply to: ... ... 6. A fire set within an outdoor grill utilizing charcoal, seasoned dry wood, natural gas or liquified petroleum gas for purposes of cooking or heating foods; ... ... § 10-12.2. Applicable Regulations. All permitted fires shall comply with all applicable State of New Jersey and Middlesex County statutes, codes and regulations, including but not limited to the Smoke Control Code of New Jersey and the Air Pollution Control Code.
Full Breakdown
Section 10-12.1a bans burning any solid or liquid material outdoors anywhere in the Township, but subsection b lists exceptions to that ban, and clause 6 specifically covers a fire set within an outdoor grill utilizing charcoal, seasoned dry wood, natural gas or liquified petroleum gas for purposes of cooking or heating foods. That means a charcoal grill, wood-fired smoker, gas grill, or propane grill used to cook is exempt from the general ban and does not need Township approval to operate, unlike a bare open fire.
The exemption is narrow: it covers cooking or heating food specifically, using one of the four named fuels, inside a grill, and it sits alongside a separate exception in clause 5 for fireplaces, lined fire pits, and chimenias, which is not a cooking exemption. Section 10-12.2 still requires any permitted fire, including an exempt grill or smoker, to comply with all other applicable New Jersey and Middlesex County rules, expressly naming the Smoke Control Code of New Jersey and the Air Pollution Control Code that the Township has adopted separately at §§ 10-8 and 10-9.
Because the grill exemption is carved out of the base open-burning prohibition rather than given its own permit process, there is no separate Township fee or application for a backyard grill or smoker; the only local text governing it is this narrow exception plus the general obligation to keep smoke and emissions within the state's air-quality limits.
Violations & Fines
A grill or smoker burning charcoal, seasoned dry wood, natural gas, or LP gas for cooking or heating is exempt from the § 10-12.1a open-burning ban under § 10-12.1b(6), so using one for cooking is not itself a violation. Burning other materials in a grill, or running it for a purpose besides cooking or heating food, falls back under the general ban and its § 10-12.3 penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a charcoal or gas grill in my Piscataway backyard?
Does a wood-fired smoker count as banned open burning?
Do grills and smokers still have to follow air-quality rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Piscataway
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