Toms River, NJ Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)

Section 442-14 tells everyone whose home gets municipal refuse and recycling service to separate leaves from other solid waste and place them at the curb in bags, loose, unbagged leaves are not accepted, or bring them to whatever collection point the Township's recycling regulations designate, unless the leaves are composted or mulched on the property. Chapter 442 defines leaves narrowly: all foliage from trees and shrubs, but specifically excluding branches and other foreign material (§ 442-11).

Branches and woody debris fall under a separate category. Section 442-12A(16) lists stumps, tree trunks, brush among the 19 materials the Township makes mandatory to separate from the regular trash stream, defined in the code simply as unfinished wood, branches (§ 442-11). Both leaves and brush must be set out on the days, times and in the manner the Department of Public Works establishes by regulation, which take effect only after the Township Council adopts them by resolution (§ 442-17A).

Enforcement runs through several offices at once: the Code Enforcement Official, the Director of Public Works or a representative, the Housing Officer, and the Ocean County Department of Health can each inspect containers and bags, including sorting through them, for compliance (§ 442-17B). A violation of the leaf-separation or brush-separation rules is punishable the same as any other Article IV recycling violation: a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense, and the money collected goes into the Municipal Recycling Trust Fund (§ 442-18).