Elizabeth, NJ Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

36, Mandatory Recycling Program, establishes citywide separation and collection for 23 residential material categories: aluminum cans, ferrous cans, pourable glass containers, plastic #1 and #2 beverage and detergent containers, newspapers, corrugated cardboard, mixed paper, grass, leaves, vegetative waste, roofing materials, used motor oil, antifreeze, vehicle batteries, consumer batteries, white goods, other heavy irons, construction and demolition materials, tires, cinder block/stone/concrete/brick, motor oil filters, wood and electronics such as TVs, monitors, computers, VCRs and desktop fax machines. 055 backs the mandate with a mixing ban: haulers may not legally collect solid waste that is mixed with, or shows visible signs of, designated recyclables, and cannot remove bags flagged with a warning sticker for containing recyclables.

060 makes recyclable materials city property, and it is a separate offense for anyone other than city personnel or the resident to pick them up, so scavenging recycling bins is itself a code violation. 080, provide and maintain a clearly marked recycling area for glass, metal, plastics, newspapers and cardboard. 130 by the recycling coordinator, the police department, the department of public works, the department of health, welfare and housing, the Union County regional environmental health commission, and the Union County utilities authority.