Perth Amboy, NJ Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 243-3(C) of the Perth Amboy City Code, effective March 11, 2013, limits automated collection to the City-issued ninety-five-gallon green cart. The definitions in § 243-1 describe it as a plastic cart specifically designed for automated collection, with a serial number assigned to each address receiving automated collection. Excluded from the cart are bulky waste, hazardous waste, mandatory recyclable items and leaves, and everything placed in it must be drained and free of all liquids.

Placement matters for the truck. The cart sits at the edge of the roadway adjacent to the curbline with the front facing the street, and it must be free from obstruction of any type that would interfere with the operation of the system or block the truck operator from lifting and dumping it. The weight cap of 50 pounds that applies to other containers does not apply when using the automated container.

A household that needs more capacity pays a fee of $60 for the rental of one additional City-issued cart. The cart at all times remains the property of the City and stays with the property if the owner or lessee moves or sells the home, so it does not travel with the resident.

Recyclables follow a separate track: § 243-3(A) requires all recyclable items to be kept separate from regular garbage, refuse and rubbish and placed for collection in accordance with Chapter 351. Hazardous materials are never collected by the City under § 243-9 and go to Middlesex County Hazardous Waste Days. Set-out times are in § 243-3, and the Director of Public Works fixes collection times under § 243-10.