Bayonne, NJ Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Chapter 30 of the Bayonne City Code, adopted by Ordinance No. O-11-20 and effective June 15, 2011, regulates every refuse container or dumpster that sits outdoors or is exposed to stormwater in the City of Bayonne. Section 30-12.1 states the purpose is to require dumpsters and other refuse containers that are outdoors or exposed to stormwater to be covered at all times and to stop spilling, dumping, leaking or discharge of liquids, semi-liquids or solids into the municipal separate storm sewer system or the combined sewer system the City operates.

Section 30-12.3 places the duty on whoever controls the container, whether by ownership, lease or operation: the dumpster must be covered at all times and must not overflow, and it cannot leak or discharge into the sewer system. Section 30-12.4 carves out five exceptions: permitted temporary demolition containers, litter receptacles that are not dumpsters or other bulk containers, individual homeowner trash and recycling containers, refuse containers at facilities already authorized to discharge stormwater under a valid NJPDES permit, and large bulky items such as furniture, bound carpet and padding or white goods set curbside for pickup.

Section 30-12.5 assigns enforcement to the Police Department, the City Engineer, the Construction Official, the Health Department and any other City official or designated agent. A commercial roll-off or dumpster rental company placing a container on a Bayonne job site or lot must keep the lid closed between uses or risk a violation notice from any of these departments. The rule sits inside the City's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System chapter, so it is tied to Bayonne's stormwater permit obligations, not the separate solid waste collection rules in Chapter 26.