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

Newark's recycling program is not voluntary. Code § 15:12-4(a) makes every "generator" in the city, meaning any household, business, industrial site or institution, source-separate a specific list of materials from municipal solid waste: used corrugated cardboard, newspapers, magazines, glass bottles and jars, #1 PETE and #2 HDPE plastic containers (milk and juice jugs, water and soda bottles), aluminum and bi-metal food and beverage cans, leaves, used motor oil, mixed high grade white paper, white goods, ferrous and other scrap metals, lead acid batteries, consumer cell batteries and automobile tires.

Generators must supply their own containers for temporary storage pending pickup, and those containers must sit somewhere easily accessible that will not create a nuisance for neighboring properties or block pedestrians and vehicles. Section 15:12-4(d) extends the duty to construction and demolition contractors, who must sort wood, brick, concrete, asphalt, scrap metal, window glass, stumps and logs for recycling rather than dumping them as mixed debris. Section 15:12-5 layers on a notice duty: every generator must annually tell tenants and other affected parties about these requirements, and landlords must put the recycling obligation in writing as a lease condition and keep proof of that notice.

Larger generators face reporting duties too. Under § 15:12-6, multi-family dwellings, commercial and industrial establishments, and institutions with private haulers must report their recycled tonnage by material type annually to the City of Newark's Office of Recycling, and demolition contractors must file recycled-material weight reports with the Central Permit Office. The Department of Public Works, per § 15:12-2, is the agency that sets the actual manner, days and times of collection and the bundling and placement rules that implement this separation mandate.