Responsible Waste
The average American creates approximately 4 pounds of garbage per day—that’s about 1,500 pounds per year. Multiply that by the number of people in your household and you’ll quickly realize that we make a lot of trash! And in Glen Ridge, our trash doesn’t end up in a landfill; instead, it’s sent to a giant incinerator in Newark to be burned.
The best options are always Reuse and Refuse, but when that isn’t possible, here are some ways to responsibly dispose of your stuff.
Curbside Recycling
Plastic
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No plastic bags. They jam the machine.
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No clamshell produce containers even if they have a #1, #2, or #5. The process used to make the clamshell shape, thermoforming, alters the grade of the plastic and makes it incompatible for recycling.
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No plastic lids or caps. They also jam the machines.
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No Styrofoam. White EPS Styrofoam can be dropped off at the DPW town yard 2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm.
Paper
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No waxy cardboards like milk, juice, and ice cream cartons.
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No frozen food boxes or microwave trays. Paperboard boxes that are designed for freezer foods, such as frozen pizza and entrees, have a plastic polymer sprayed on them to protect the food against freezer burn.
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No greasy pizza boxes or shredded paper.
Glass
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No ceramics, china, dishes, mirrors, light bulbs, Pyrex, porcelain or window glass.
Metal
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No ceramics, china, dishes, mirrors, light bulbs, Pyrex, porcelain or window glass.
Glen Ridge also has drop-off recycling for items like rechargeable batteries, Styrofoam, and electronics/e-waste and the town will pick up items with freon. Click here for details.
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Essex County hosts collection days for hazardous items like paint, pesticides, automotive fluids, etc. For details, click here.
Compost
Did you know a third of our garbage is compostable? By diverting food scraps from the waste stream, we can reduce our carbon footprint and return valuable nutrients to the soil. ​
It’s easy to compost at home, but for those who’d rather leave composting to the professionals, local business Java’s Compost offers two options:​
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Curbside pickup - where a driver comes to you on a regular basis.
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Community drop-off at the Benson St. Green - which allows you to compost on your own scheduling food scraps from the waste stream, we can reduce our carbon footprint and return valuable nutrients to the soil.
Donate Goods
Did you know that approximately ten million TONS of furniture go to the trash every year? Freecycling is a great way to give unwanted, good-condition household items a new life in a new home and keep them out of the incinerator.
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The Glen Ridge Freecycle program takes place the first Wednesday of each month.
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Add your items or peruse what’s available on the Glen Ridge Freecycle directory.
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For a bigger audience, you can also post photos of your stuff in the various Freecycle and Curb Alert Facebook groups.
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Alternatively, consider donating it to a charitable organization, like Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Wayne or Bergen County, or Furniture Assist in Springfield (they’ll even take some mattresses!).
For purchases, consider antiques and second-hand furniture. Try one of the growing number of furniture companies that sells ethical, sustainable, and fair-trade products, like West Elm or Joybird.