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

Section 266-42, added to Chapter 266 by Ordinance No. 19-2544 in 2019, sets the standard for how business establishments store recycling and trash in dumpsters. Subsection C requires that receptacles, including dumpsters, be kept tightly covered and free of openings large enough to let rodents in, and bars recyclables from being piled above the height of the receptacle. Roll-off dumpsters without lids get a narrow exception: Subsection D allows them to stay uncovered only if no food waste is stored inside, the recycling does not exceed the height of the dumpster, the material cannot be scattered by wind, and the setup does not create a health nuisance of any kind; failing any one of those four conditions puts the property out of compliance.

Subsection E flatly bars businesses from storing or disposing of liquids of any kind, expressly including cooking oils, cooking grease or solidified grease, in dumpsters or containers meant for garbage or refuse. Businesses must also arrange removal often enough to prevent odor, flies, vermin or litter from overfilled receptacles under Section 266-42A, and cardboard is the only material allowed to be bundled and tied rather than fully containerized. These rules sit alongside the Chapter 344 Sanitary Code provisions on solid waste storage, but Section 266-42 is the specific dumpster-covering and liquids rule for the Borough's recycling program.