Updated recycling rules approved in Marlboro

MARLBORO — New recycling regulations established by the state and Monmouth County concerning the mandatory separation of items are now on the books in Marlboro.

The Township Council adopted the amended ordinance during its Feb. 4 meeting.

The new rules will be in accordance with requirements set by the New Jersey Mandatory Source Separation and Recycling Act and by the 2009 update to the Monmouth County Solid Waste Management Plan.

Under the rules it will be mandatory to separate newspaper, corrugated cardboard, clean mixed paper, aluminum cans, tin and bi-metal cans, glass bottles and jars, and pourable plastic bottles (i.e., laundry detergent bottles) from traditional garbage.

Glass and plastic items may be placed in the same container — known as co-mingling — while newspapers and cardboard will have to be tied and bundled separately.

Residences, businesses and institutions that are provided with recyclable collection service by or through the township will have to place all designated recyclables in appropriate containers at curbside.

According to the ordinance, any multifamily complex, business or institution that is not provided with recyclable collection service by or through the township will be responsible for arranging the appropriate separation, storage, collection and ultimate recycling of all designated recyclables.

Multi-family complexes, businesses, schools and public or private institutions must have separate containers that are clearly marked as to which type of recyclable item is to be placed in the container.

Violations of the township ordinance will result in the following:

• For a first offense the recycling coordinator will issue a written warning.

• A second offense will result in a fine of between $25 and $100 imposed by the municipal court.

• A third offense will result in a fine of between $50 and $250 imposed by the municipal court.

• The fourth or subsequent offense will result in a fine of between $250 and $1,500, and/or the performance of community service at the direction of the recycling center for a period not to exceed 90 days.

Questions were raised by resident Selika Gore about wording in the recycling ordinance. Contained in the mandate is a provision which permits the township to inspect an individual’s trash to ensure that recycling rules are being followed.

Gore asked if officials would be pursuing such a course of action. She was told that inspections of residents’ trash are very unlikely to occur. It was stated that businesses may have their trash inspected in order to ensure that items that are supposed to be recycled are being taken out of the waste stream.

It was explained by the township attorney that the county’s requirements must allow the township the right to inspect trash, but do not dictate that residents’ trash be checked.

Gore raised concern as to whether a person could be fined if an item that is supposed to be recycled is found mixed in with their trash that perhaps someone else put in the bag.

Township officials said that is why a warning will be given for a first offense.

Gore told the council she was raising these issues as an attorney who might be asked questions concerning this situation by a client. She expressed concern that such events — people placing recyclable items in another individual’s trash — could happen beyond a first offense, as in the case of neighbors who do not get along.