The Township of Verona encourages all residents to reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost as much of their household waste as possible. Verona residents are to be applauded for their recycling efforts. In 2008, some 2500 tons of recyclables were removed from the waste stream, saving the taxpayers of Verona over $193,000 in disposal costs! Almost 35% of the waste collected in Verona is now recycled. Verona provides curbside collection of many recyclables. Others can be brought to the township's recycling center located at 10 Commerce Court in Verona. 

2012 Calendar

Click HERE for the 2012 calendar of garbage and recycling collection days. Or refer to the booklet for Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling Procedures: North Side and South Side - Recycling questions, call 973-857-4804. For more information about waste prevention, reuse, composting, and all other environmental topics, please contact the VEC.

What is Household Hazardous Waste?

Never place Household Hazardous Waste in the garbage or recycle bin and don't pour it down the drain

Oil-based paints, pesticides, rechargeable batteries and even thermometers are some of the many household products containing hazardous components. All N.J. residents are prohibited by law from improper disposal of “household hazardous waste” (HHW), even when it is a small amount or project leftover

What to Recycle at Home

• Newspapers: Newspapers must be separated from all other paper, magazines and cardboard. They must be bound with string or placed at the curb in a reusable container for collection (do not place them in brown or plastic bags)
  
  

• Plastics, Glass, Tin and Aluminum Cans: Called "commingled materials", these are collected on alternating weeks with newspaper. Verona currently only collects Type 1 and Type 2 plastics, which generally includes milk, soda, water and juice bottles and jugs. Look for the images at right on the bottom if you're not sure.

• Magazines and Junk Mail: This includes catalogs, color inserts, envelopes, coupons, school papers, books (no hard covers), non-metallic wrapping paper and mixed office paper. Do not include: Cardboard boxes, chip board, drink boxes, brown or plastic bags, or telephone books.

• Grass, leaves. According to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection rules, vegetative waste materials may no longer be placed with other solid waste for disposal. They must be recycled as mandated by NJDEP.

• White Goods/Metal includes: refrigerators, stoves, hot water heaters, air conditioners, dishwashers, trash compactors, file cabinets, bicycles, metal lawn furniture, lawn mowers, metal window frames, and other non-automotive metal items.

• Bulk Items include: mattresses, furniture, chain link fencing, lighting fixtures, rolled carpeting, and other large items providing that weight less than 100 lbs. Remodeling  and construction materials will not be picked-up.
  

How to Recycle at Home

• Place all material to be collected at the curb no earlier than 7 pm on the night before the scheduled pick-up date or by 6 am on the day of collection.

• Use a suitable refuse container clearly marked, plastic or metal between 20 to 40 gallons when full and weighing less than 50 lbs. Recycling containers are sold at $5 each at 10 Commerce Ct. from 9 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. 

What to Recycle at Commerce Court

• Commingled Materials: Plastic Bottles and Containers (Type #1 and #2), Glass Bottles, Tin and Aluminum Cans.

• Corrugated Cardboard, must be clean and flattened. Remove plastic wraps and packaging materials from boxes (like plastic bags or Styrofoam).
  

• E-Waste: Since 2009 electronic equipment such as TVs, computer monitors, digital audio players, laser and inkjet printers, hard drives and keyboards can no longer be placed at the curb for pick up in Verona. Bring it to the Recycling Center to make sure that toxins stay out of the waste stream. E-waste contains mercury, cadmium, lead and other hazardous components. The Electronic Waste Management Act effective January 1, 2011 requires e-waste to be recycled in the state of New Jersey.

• White Goods/Metal items such as bicycles, air conditioners and file cabinets.

• Batteries and Motor Oil: used “AAA” through Type “D” and button batteries should be collected and brought to the Recycling Center and placed in the designated container for recycling. Motor oil can be recycled by emptying the oil in the Used Oil Container, and antifreeze in a separate container, both located in the Public Works Garage, Monday-Friday, 8 am to 4 pm.

• There is also a clothing and shoe collection container for donations.

Recycle all Rechargeable Batteries

Essex County residents: For safety bag each battery or tape each of the terminal ends as shown in the picture before recycling. Bring them to Radio Shack (in Verona), Staples (in Cedar Grove) or the Essex County's Household Hazardous Waste collection events. Triple A batteries through D may now be disposed of in our daily trash. Button batteries and all rechargeable must be disposed as listed under Hazardous Waste. Visit www.ecuanj.com for details or click here to read more.

Smoke Alarm/Detectors

Essex County will no longer accept smoke alarms/detectors at their Hazardous Waste Collection Day. Return them to their respective manufacturer for proper disposal. Please consult the reference manual or case of your unit for manufacturer contact information. Also FIREX will accept and properly dispose other manufacturer’s smoke alarms/detectors at no cost. Mailing address:FIREX ,c/o Disposal, 28C Leigh Fisher Blvd , El Paso , TX 79906. Tel. 1-800-880-6788

What Verona Doesn't Recycle (Latex Paint, Ceramics, etc.)

• Make sure the paint can is less than ½ full . If the can is more than ½ full pour the excess paint into another container, like a milk jug (remove the top of the milk jug at the shoulder level ) or coffee can. Proceed to step#2 for the milk jug and coffee can.
• Add sand , clay based kitty litter or speedy dry so that the can is ¾ full. 
• Stir paint/kitty litter or speedy dry mixture. 
• If liquid paint remains, add more sand, kitty litter or speedy dry. 
• Allow paint/kitty litter or speedy dry mixture to dry until it is no longer pourable. 
• Dispose of paint can, milk jug or coffee can in the garbage. 
• Do not put the lid back on the paint can! Paint cans will not be picked up by your trash hauler if they can’t see that the paint is dry.
  

• Pour paint into a cardboard tray (e.g. soda) lined with newspaper in a way that the paint is retained in the tray.
  
• Leave tops off paint cans and place the cans and tray on a flat surface in the sun to allow the paint to dry.
  
• Wrap newspaper containing dried paint in a plastic bag for disposal. Do the same for paint cans. Place these materials at the curb with the trash.
  

• Cardboard other than corrugated (that includes shirt boxes, cereal boxes, juice boxes, and chip board).
  
• Plastic containers and items other than Type 1 or 2.
  
• Plate glass or ceramics.

       

Gimme 5!

Most communities including Verona do not recycle Type 5 plastics yet.

But now you can recycle #5 through the Gimme 5 program. Just collect all your clean plastic with a #5 stamp in it and drop it in the Gimme 5 bins located at the following Whole Foods Market stores in NJ: West Orange, Montclair, Edgewater, Madison, Paramus, Red Bank, Ridgewood and Union.

Many supermarkets accept plastic shopping bags for recycling; FoodTown, Shoprite, A&P, Whole Foods, and Pathmark are some of them. Also King's , FoodTown and Shoprite give you money back for using your reusable shopping bags.   

Don't Bag Me!

• Throw a few canvas or string bags into your car and purse. When shopping, use your reusable bags. Many supermarkets such as King's, Foodtown, Stop & Shop, Shop Rite and Whole Foods give you money back for using your reusable shopping bags.
• Request that purchases not be double-bagged and encourage the salesclerk to place extra items into each bag. Politely stop the “plastic bags pushers”!
• If you purchase only a few items, forgo the bag and carry them by hand. And don’t bag items that already have handles such as milk and cat litter.
• If you already have plastic bags, there are many ways to reuse them. Take them back to the supermarket to bring home your next batch of groceries. Or line small bedroom and bathroom trashcans.
• Don’t trash your plastic bags; recycle them at local supermarkets such as Foodtown, Shop Rite, A&P and Whole Foods.
• The Verona Recycling Center doesn’t accept plastic bags so please do not bring them to our recycling depot.

What About All My Other Garbage?

• Verona residents can properly dispose of their CFLs when Essex County has its Household Hazardous Waste Day.
• Intact bulbs should be placed in a clear plastic bag.
• For broken CFLs, follow the EPA's Clean-Up and Disposal Guidelines.

Waste Facts

• In the U.S., we throw away enough aluminum to rebuild the entire commercial air fleet every three months.
  
• Every hour Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles.
  
• Plastic takes up to 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill.
• We throw away 50 million computers and 130 million cell phones annually.
• Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in the U.S. is packaging.
  
• One third of what we buy ends up in the garbage.
  
• An average person creates 4.39 pounds of trash per day and up to 56 tons of trash per year!

          

Recycling Works!

• 1,500 aluminum cans are recycled in the US... every second!
  
• Americans are doing great at recycling corrugated boxes, more than 90% of products are shipped in cardboard boxes, and about 70% of those boxes are recovered for recycling.
• Recycling 1 ton of cardboard saves over 9 cubic yards of landfill space.
• 60% of the world’s lead supply comes from recycled batteries.
• Producing recycled white paper creates 74% less air pollutants, 35% less water pollutants and 75% less processing energy than producing paper from virgin fibers. 
• Recycling significantly reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.