East Brunswick, NJ Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Core rule
- No dumping on any land or public street except licensed disposal area or junkyard
- Owner duty
- Waste left by others must still be removed from the premises
- Complaint signers
- Code Enforcement Officer, Board of Health, Parks and Public Works, or Public Safety
- Court
- Municipal Court
- Penalty ceiling
- $2,000 fine, 90 days jail or 90 days community service
- Unpaid cleanup
- Processed as a lien against the property
Summary
In East Brunswick Township, § 88-3 bars anyone from throwing, spilling, dumping, casting or depositing mud, brush, trash, junk, debris or other waste on any land or public street or highway except in a duly licensed disposal area or junkyard. Owners must also clear waste that someone else left on their premises, and the Township can lien the property for cleanup costs.
No person shall throw, spill, dump, cast, track or deposit or cause to be thrown, spilled, dumped, cast, tracked or deposited any mud, dirt or other foreign matter, materials or liquid on or along any public street or highway in the Township of East Brunswick. No person shall throw, spill, dump, cast or deposit or cause or permit to be thrown, spilled, dumped, cast or deposited any brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash, junk, debris or other waste materials on any lands or on or along any public street or highway in the Township of East Brunswick except in a duly licensed disposal area or junkyard. No person shall allow any mud, dirt, brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash, junk, debris, liquid or other waste materials to remain on their premises, even if a person or persons other than the owner of the premises was responsible for placing such items there.
Full Breakdown
Section 88-3 has three operative sentences. The first covers streets: no person shall throw, spill, dump, cast, track or deposit mud, dirt or other foreign matter, materials or liquid on or along any public street or highway in East Brunswick Township, and the ban reaches anyone who causes it to be done. The second covers dumping on land: brush, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash, junk, debris or other waste materials cannot be dumped on any lands or on or along any public street or highway except in a duly licensed disposal area or junkyard. The text also bars anyone who permits the dumping, so letting someone else dump is covered too.
The third sentence puts responsibility on the property owner: no person shall allow those materials to remain on their premises, even if a person other than the owner was responsible for placing them there. An owner whose lot is used for dumping by a stranger is still the one who has to clear it.
Section 88-4 sets the enforcement path. A complaint is signed by the Code Enforcement Officer, the Board of Health, the Department of Parks and Public Works or the Public Safety Department of the Township, and the case is enforced in Municipal Court. If the Township prevails, responsibility for compliance lies with the violator. If the violator does not correct the violation, the Township takes action to protect the general health of the public and the cost of that action is processed as a lien against the property in accordance with law.
Chapter 88 was adopted 6-14-65 as Ord. No. 65-20, and § 88-3 was amended 7-25-05 by Ord. No. 05-18. Section 88-2 in the same chapter separately bars discharging domestic sewage, non-contact cooling water, process wastewater or other industrial waste through an illicit connection to the municipal separate storm sewer system operated by the Township.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 88 prints no penalty of its own, so the general penalty in § 1-15A applies: on conviction, a fine not to exceed $2,000, imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed 90 days, or community service not exceeding 90 days, with each day a separate and distinct offense. Under § 1-15C a complaint must be filed within one year of the commission or discovery of the offense. Cleanup costs the Township incurs become a lien against the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to leave brush or yard waste on a vacant lot in East Brunswick Township?
Am I responsible if someone else dumps on my property?
Who can file a dumping complaint and where is it heard?
What happens if a violator does not clean up after a complaint?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in East Brunswick
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Illegal Dumping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle illegal dumping.