New Brunswick, NJ Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Section 8.40.110(A) of the New Brunswick Municipal Code makes it mandatory for all persons, firms and organizations to source separate the listed materials from all other waste. Subsection (E) names what is mandatorily recyclable and bars placing it at curbside mixed with regular solid waste: glass containers, aluminum cans, steel cans, plastic containers, newspapers, corrugated cardboard, mixed paper, textiles, brush, leaves, motor oil, masonry and paving material, rechargeable batteries, tires, white goods and electronics.

The container mix is specific. Glass, aluminum, steel and plastic containers are commingled in an open rigid container placed at the curb on days scheduled by the Department of Public Works, and glass and plastic must be clean and free of metal or plastic rings and tops. Corrugated cardboard is flattened and tied in bundles not more than four feet by four feet by one foot thick, and small flat cardboard under twelve inches can go loose in the container. Textiles go to drop boxes designated to support charities, and electronics go to the designated e-waste drop-off. No plastic bags can be commingled with mandated recyclables or placed inside any recycling receptacle, and § 8.40.110(G) repeats that no recyclable materials go out in a plastic bag. Commercial, industrial and institutional users, governments and office parks add electronics, fluorescent bulbs, plastic film for warehouses, retail establishments and supermarkets with twenty-five or more employees, and unfinished wood scrap from new construction.

Once recyclables are placed for city collection they become city property, and taking them is a violation under subsection (D). A private arrangement is allowed if it is registered with the Department of Public Works and the materials are not put at the curb on or immediately before regular city collections. Under § 8.40.040(C), recycling containers hold not more than thirty-two gallons with twenty gallons recommended, and none can weigh more than fifty pounds at the curb. New homeowners with a deed showing ownership within the last year get two free twenty gallon containers, and extra containers cost $15 for twenty gallon and $20 for thirty-two gallon.