Bloomfield, NJ Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Section 491-6 of the Bloomfield Township Code establishes a program of mandatory source separation from the municipal solid waste stream in the Township of Bloomfield, Essex County. It applies to single-family and multifamily residential, commercial, office park, industrial, institutional and governmental solid waste generators, at the point of generation. The section prints a three-column list for residential, commercial and institutional generators. Items that appear in all three columns include newspapers, old corrugated containers, glass food and beverage containers, leaves, aluminum beverage containers, used motor oil, white goods, lead acid batteries from vehicles, plastics No. 1 and No. 2, steel/tin containers and ferrous scrap. The section also adds or drops designated recyclables whenever the County of Essex amends its County Solid Waste Management Plan and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approves the change.

Section 491-5 adds a reporting duty. Before March 1 of each year, occupants of commercial and institutional establishments and multifamily housing owners or their agents report to the Municipal Recycling Coordinator, on forms the municipality provides, the tonnage of recyclables collected and removed during the previous year. Under § 491-8, the Township Administrator is authorized to contract for disposal of the recyclables the Township collects. Anyone can donate or sell recyclables, and a person can obtain a Township permit to collect them, but a permit holder cannot pick up from the curb without specific permission. It is a violation for anyone unauthorized by the Township to collect recyclables, and each collection from one or more residences is a separate offense. Fines collected go into the Municipal Recycling Trust Fund (§ 491-9(B)). Article II was adopted 9-8-1987 and § 491-6 was last amended 11-5-2014 by Ord. No. 14-46.