Perth Amboy, NJ Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

In the City of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey, leaf collection is governed by Chapter 270 of the City Code, run by the Director of the Department of Public Works. The chapter defines leaves as flattened plant structures that were attached to a stem and served as a principal organ of photosynthesis, and it says leaves do not include grass clippings, shrubbery, branches or root material.

Container rule: under § 270-2, all leaves go in paper, biodegradable bags with a minimum capacity of fifteen gallons. Leaves may not be placed for collection in plastic bags. Grass clippings, shrubbery, branches, root material or any other materials cannot be mixed in with bagged leaves. That means a bag holding leaves and grass together fails the rule.

Placement and timing: under § 270-4, the bags are set out within two feet of the curbline adjacent to the property the leaves came from, and not earlier than the evening before the day of collection. Nobody can cast, place, sweep or deposit leaves anywhere in the City in a way that lets wind or water carry them onto a street, sidewalk, alley, sewer or other public or private place. Under § 270-3, the Director sets the collection schedule and can alter it for legal holidays, emergencies or as the Director deems necessary.

Refusal: under § 270-5, the Director or designee can refuse to collect leaves that fail these rules. The person who put them out must then dispose of them at their own cost within twenty-four hours of the refusal.

Related Chapter 243 rules: Chapter 243 defines yard waste as leaves and grass clippings. Under § 243-14.1, an owner or tenant must remove cut grass, brush, leaves, weeds and similar debris from their land within 10 days after receiving written notice or summons. Owners, occupants and the lawn care or landscaping contractors they hire cannot sweep, rake or blow yard waste into the street unless it is containerized, and containerized yard waste at the curb cannot sit closer than 10 feet from any storm drain inlet. Section 243-3 also excludes leaves from the City-issued ninety-five-gallon green cart used for automated solid waste collection, so leaves stay in paper bags.