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

Chapter 112 of the Wayne Township Code, the Township's littering chapter, treats dumping as a heavier offense than ordinary litter. Section 112-14 A covers roads, rights-of-way and water: no one can discard or dump solid waste there. The code lists municipal wastes (household, commercial or industrial), bulky waste such as appliances, furniture, vehicles or vehicle parts and rubber tires, construction and demolition waste, and vegetative waste such as leaves, tree parts, shrubbery and garden wastes. Section 112-14 B applies the same list to any property, public or private. Dumping on someone else's land needs the express written consent of the property owner, and even then the waste goes only into a litter receptacle or waste container designed for solid waste storage and disposal.

Nearby sections close related gaps. Section 112-12 makes it unlawful to throw or deposit litter on any open or vacant public or private property in the Township, whether the person owns it or not. Section 112-9 requires trucks and vehicles hauling stones, dirt, sand, gravel, earth, fill, glass, grass clippings or solid waste to cover or retain the load, and the Director of Public Works or a designee enforces that section. Section 112-15 makes the owner, agent or contractor in charge of a construction or demolition site responsible for adequate containers and for preventing litter before, during and after the project.

Cleanup runs through the Township. Under § 112-16 A, when an owner, occupant, tenant or agent refuses or neglects to remedy a violation on private property, the municipality can abate it. If the owner does not remove the material within five days of receiving a notice of violation from the Health Officer or designee, the cost is charged against the property and owner under N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12f. That cost becomes a lien, bears interest at the same rate as taxes, is collected like a delinquent real estate tax lien, and carries a 15% administrative charge on the total cost. Penalties collected go to the Miscellaneous Revenue Not Anticipated Fund and the Township's Clean Communities account.