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

Chapter 26-18, Refuse Containers/Dumpsters (Ord. No. 54-55), applies to "any waste container that a person controls whether owned, leased, or operated, including dumpsters, trash cans, garbage pails and plastic trash bags" that sits outdoors or is exposed to stormwater. 3 sets two duties: keep the container covered at all times and prevent refuse from spilling out or overflowing, and separately, prevent any leak or discharge of liquids, semi-liquids, or solids into the municipal separate storm sewer system operated by the City. 4 carves out five exceptions: permitted temporary demolition containers, litter receptacles other than dumpsters or bulk containers, individual homeowner trash and recycling containers, refuse containers at facilities holding a valid NJPDES discharge permit, and large bulky items such as furniture or bound carpet and padding set curbside for pickup.

5: the Police Department, the Board of Health, and the Department of Public Works, so a complaint about an open commercial dumpster behind a restaurant or a leaking roll-off at a construction site can come from any of the three. The ordinance sits inside Chapter 26's broader stormwater-protection framework alongside § 26-17, stormwater control for major development, and § 26-19, private storm drain inlet retrofitting, all adopted to keep pollutants out of Linden's storm sewer outfalls.