Jackson, NJ Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Jackson Township, New Jersey adopted its Antidumping and Littering Ordinance in 1992 as Chapter 216, Article VII of the Code of the Township of Jackson. Section 216-51, Improper disposal; violations and penalties, prohibits any person from disposing of garbage, litter, refuse, rubbish or solid waste, regardless of intent, at any private premises or public place in the Township that has not received authorization from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy or the Board of Public Utilities. The threshold separating a major violation from ordinary littering is precise: more than 0.148 cubic yard of solids or 30 United States gallons of liquids, described in the ordinance as roughly one thirty-gallon trash bag or garbage container.

Anyone who dumps above that amount faces a fine of not less than $2,500 and not more than $10,000, imprisonment in the Ocean County jail for up to 90 days, or both, and a court-ordered community service term that cannot reduce the fine by more than half. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense, so a pile left in place accrues additional exposure daily. Smaller amounts fall instead under the Township's general littering and property-maintenance provisions in the same article. Enforcement runs through the Jackson Township Police Department and the Jackson Township Code Enforcement Officer under § 216-56, and § 216-57 lets either department order immediate removal, with unpaid cleanup costs becoming a lien against the property under § 216-59.

The ordinance carves out an exception for accidental spills under § 216-54, giving a violator 48 hours to clean up before the antidumping penalties apply, and § 216-61 recognizes that hazardous or toxic waste dumping is preempted by state and federal law rather than handled locally.