RECYCLING ENFORCEMENT
In 1992 Gloucester County launched a new and innovative program designed to ensure recycling compliance at all multifamily dwellings, institutions, and businesses. A Recycling Enforcement Officer is assigned to inspect all these facilities in Gloucester County to determine if they have a recycling program in place. Facilities that are recycling are advised as to their responsibilities under state, county, and local laws. A series of re-inspections are conducted over a 100-day period to allow time for a recycling program to be implemented. Facilities that repeatedly neglect their recycling responsibilities are referred to the Gloucester County Health Department, which files formal charges in the municipal court where the facility is located. Since the program began more than 10,000 inspections have been conducted throughout the County. If you would like more information on this program, please contact the GCIA/Office of Recycling.
TIRE AMNESTY PROGRAM
In order to combat the spread of the mosquito-born West Nile Virus the GCIA/Office of Recycling, in cooperation with the Board of County Commissioners, conducted three Tire Amnesty Days in 2001 during which County residents and farmers could dispose of up to 25-passenger car and pick-up tires at no cost (larger loads were accepted by appointments). This program was sponsored by a one-time grant from NJDEP. During the three collection events in 2001 the GCIA/Office of Recycling accepted approximately 12,000 tires. The GCIA/Office of Recycling also worked with interested County farmers and municipalities on a case-by-case basis to assist them with the disposal of their stockpiled tires. As such, the GCIA/Office of Recycling collected approximately 37,000 tires during the 2001 program. The GCIA utilized a company to grind the tires on-site and will use the chips for a variety of landfill construction projects, such as temporary road construction.
In 2002, March was declared “Tire Amnesty Month.” The month-long collection events brought in thousands of tires for recycling each year. These “Tire Amnesty Months” have brought in the following amounts over the years:
|
Year
|
Total Tires
|
|
2001
|
37,000
|
|
2002
|
33,500
|
|
2003
|
11,000
|
|
2004
|
10,000
|
|
2005
|
15,500
|
|
2006
|
16,500
|
|
2007
|
9,350
|
|
2008
|
10,985
|
|
2009
|
14,275
|
|
2010
|
7,130
|
|
2011
|
10,700
|
|
2012
|
12,835
|
|
2013
|
11,275
|
|
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
|
6,599
5,771
9,191
7,606
6,245
8,545
9,484
6,547
8,165
|
To date, this Tire Program has taken over 268,210 tires out of the waste stream and recycled them. We have planned funding for another series of collections to be conducted in the Spring of 2023. For more information, please contact our office.
2022 HSW PROGRAM RESULTS
In 2022, the GCIA/Office of Recycling conducted a total of four “Household Special Waste (HSW)” collection events. Over 1,600 residents participated in the events, which were held at the Gloucester County Solid Waste Complex in South Harrison Township and the County Roads Department in Clayton. Participants brought in 6,394 lbs. of paint, 11,989 lbs. of batteries, 25,845 lbs. of motor oil, 7,391 lbs. of antifreeze. These materials, which were all recycled or reused whenever possible, represent the greatest amounts ever collected through the County’s drop-off events.
County residents also deposited 29,545 lbs. of other HSW including propane tanks, solvents, pool chemicals, gasoline, fire extinguishers and pesticides. Along with miscellaneous items, the total amount of materials collected during 2022 was a staggering 228,807 lbs.
During 2023, the GCIA will conduct a total of 4 HSW events. Please check our Household Special Waste Section of this web site for 2023 event dates, or to receive an annual brochure on the County’s HSW program, please contact the GCIA/Office of Recycling.
ELECTRONIC E-WASTE RECYCLING PROGRAM
The GCIA continues its free E-Waste Program for Gloucester County Residents. County residents are able to bring their old, unwanted computer monitors, towers, laptops, tablets, printers, scanners, and other computer related items such as wires, keyboards and speakers for recycling. Many other types of electronics will be accepted such as stereos, videocassette recorders, DVD players, fax machines, electric typewriters, tabletop copiers, and televisions for recycling. Items do not need to be working, but MUST be intact. No smashed or shattered items, especially TVS will be accepted. These items, that can become dangerous to the environment if not handled correctly, will be properly recycled and safely kept out of the waste stream.
Please note that this program does NOT include small appliances such as microwaves, toasters, blenders, mixers, vacuums, etc. If residents have any questions, they may call the office in advance if they are unsure if an item can be recycled.
County residents may bring their E-Waste to the Gloucester County Solid Waste Complex located at 493 Monroeville Rd. (Route 694) in South Harrison Township, Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 3 p.m. This program is for Gloucester County residents only and no commercial businesses will be accepted.
Gloucester County residents may also contact their municipality to see if they still have their local drop off center. They may also contact the Good Will Store in Woodbury Hts. at (856) 848-9834, or Magnum Computer Recycling in Pennsauken at (856) 333-0991 if they have e-waste that needs to be recycled. Televisions and computers may not go out in the regular trash, they must be recycled.
For more details contact the Office of Recycling at (856) 478-6045.
HOME COMPOSTER SALE
Over the last twenty years, the GCIA/Office of Recycling and the Board of County Commissioners have jointly overseen the sale of 2,385 Earth Machines to County residents. If all the units sold thus far are used to their capacity, approximately 1,400,000 pounds of vegetative waste could be diverted from the regular trash stream on a yearly basis. The GCIA/Office of Recycling has purchased 75 additional Earth Machine Home Composting Machines for resale to Gloucester County residents. The sale, which includes the Earth Machine Home Composter and a kitchen bucket for food scraps are being sold at a discounted price of $50 each (the units retail for approximately $99). Anyone who is interested in purchasing one of these composters please contact the GCIA/Office of Recycling for further details. The composters will be sold on a first come first serve basis.
RECYCLING USED MOTOR OIL
According to the United States EPA used oil from a single oil change can ruin one million gallons of drinking water – a year’s supply for 50 people! With more Americans performing minor maintenance work on their vehicles the need for used motor oil recycling opportunities has never been more apparent. In an effort to promote the recycling of used motor oil, the GCIA/Office of Recycling and the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners purchased and delivered a number of waste motor oil collection tanks to all municipalities in the County the expressed interest in receiving one. Towns that elected not to participate either had relatively new tanks in place or felt that an oil collection program was not practical at that time for their municipality. Refer to your municipality’s page on this site to see if your town operates a used motor oil collection site.
Used motor oil is also accepted for recycling at the following Gloucester County stores: Jiffy-Lube and Pep Boys. Contact the store prior to delivering any used motor oil to determine hours of acceptance and disposal procedures.
Used motor oil and antifreeze is also accepted for recycling at any of the County’s “Household Special Waste” collection events.
OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL WEB SITES
Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR): www.anjr.com
Association of New Jersey Household Hazardous Waste Coordinators (ANJHHWC):www.njhazwaste.com
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP): www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw/recycle
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA): www.epa.gov
Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA): www.swana.org
County residents requesting more information on our many programs and projects are encouraged to contact us . Thank you
