Bergen County, NJ Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Article III(cc) of the Bergen County Parks System Rules and Regulations, 'Pollution of Property,' bars throwing, discharging, or placing any foreign or waste substances at or on the parkland or in any lake, river, lagoon, pond, creek, brook, stream, storm sewer or drain, or other waterway of the parks, or into any waterway leading into or bordering upon park water, that would result in pollution. The rule reaches beyond dumping directly into water: placing waste on parkland itself that then reaches a stream, storm drain, or lake is covered too, which pulls in illegal dumping of trash, construction debris, yard waste, or chemicals anywhere on county park property near a waterway.

00, a floor and ceiling ten to five times higher than the $100-to-$2,000 range that covers most other prohibited acts under Article III. Article IX, the ordinance's enforcement article, separately confirms this elevated fine applies to a pollution violation, on top of any restitution the County seeks for cleanup or environmental damage. Bergen County Parks Department staff and the Bergen County Sheriff's Office both have authority to investigate a dumping incident on park property, and a repeat offense within one year of a prior fined violation draws an additional fine layered on top of the base $2,500-to-$10,000 range.