Old Bridge, NJ Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Article IX of Chapter 432, adopted September 14, 2009 by Ordinance No. 2009-18, targets dumpsters and other outdoor refuse containers as a stormwater pollution source. Section 432-45 defines a 'refuse container' broadly as any waste container a person controls, whether owned, leased or operated, expressly including dumpsters, trash cans, garbage pails and plastic trash bags. Section 432-46 imposes two duties: the container or dumpster must be covered at all times and must not let refuse spill out or overflow, and it must not leak or otherwise discharge liquids, semiliquids or solids into the Township's municipal separate storm sewer system.

Section 432-47 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 that already hold a valid NJPDES stormwater discharge permit, and large bulky items such as furniture, bound carpet and padding, or white goods set curbside for pickup. Enforcement runs through the Police Department of the Township of Old Bridge under § 432-48. The article sits alongside a related stormwater provision, §§ 432-40 through 432-43, that requires certain storm drain inlets on private property to be retrofitted with solid-and-floatable-blocking grates whenever the surface around them is repaved or reconstructed, each carrying its own $1,250 penalty ceiling.