Stafford Township, NJ Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 166-5A fixes where and when a recycling container sits. It goes between the curb and the sidewalk, or where there is no curb and sidewalk, as near to the street as not to constitute a danger, and it must stay readily accessible to the collector without obstructing pedestrians. The owner or occupant keeps every receptacle clean and in a safe handling condition. Set-out opens at 5:00 p.m. on the day immediately preceding collection and closes at 6:00 a.m. on the day of collection, and containers leave the curbside by 7:00 p.m. on collection day. Section 166-5B adds that receptacles and dumpsters are maintained in accordance with the Health Code of the Township.

Chapter 167 layers on its own limits. Section 167-3B caps collection at three recycling toters per collection day per property, and § 167-3H separately requires residents to remove containers from the street or curbline by 10:00 a.m. of the day after collection. The 7:00 p.m. same-day deadline in § 166-5A is the earlier of the two and is written for recycling containers specifically. Blue automated recycling containers come in 96-gallon, 64-gallon and 32-gallon sizes at the most recent bid price, and each property is limited to purchasing two additional automated recycling containers (§ 167-4B, C).

Once materials are at the curb, no person other than those authorized by the municipality can tamper with, collect, remove or otherwise handle them (§ 166-9C). Section 166-4.2 lets residents donate or sell recyclables to authorized organizations, which cannot collect on or within the 24 hours immediately preceding a regularly scheduled curbside collection day and must provide written documentation of the total amount recycled on or before April 1 each year. Collecting designated materials without authority is a violation, and each collection is a separate offense (§ 166-4.3). Solid waste collectors cannot take trash that is mixed with or visibly contains designated recyclables (§ 166-9A).