The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce the start of a new program that enables County residents to recycle scrap metal free of charge. A wide variety of metal goods, from household appliances to gutters and sheds, are included in the program. The new countywide program will help to fill a service gap in some Union County municipalities, which currently have no pickup for scrap metal recycling.
“By sharing public resources we can ‘do more with less,’ and Union County is able to offer this convenient new service to residents of all 21 municipalities at no charge,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella. The Scrap Metal Recycling Program is available for use by households, commercial establishments, nonprofit agencies and other organizations. “As a community, we benefit across the board by recycling more and throwing away less waste, and we also stand to gain some revenue from the program,” said Mirabella.
Starting on Thursday, June 7, the program will be open on the first Thursday of each month and the third Saturday of each month, from 9 am to 12 noon.
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Scrap metal from any municipality may be brought to any of the following four drop-off centers:
Clark: Oak Ridge Park, 36 Oak Ridge Road (the Oak Ridge Service Yard).
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Mountainside: Watchung Reservation, Tracy Drive (the Loop parking area).
Rahway: Rahway Park, Rahway Service Yard (across from the pool).
Westfield: Westfield Conservation Center, 1300 Lamberts Mill Road.
Mirabella reminded County residents who are recycling refrigerators or freezers that by law, doors must be removed. The Scrap Metal Recycling Program cannot accept refrigerators or freezers with the doors intact. Acceptable items include aluminum scrap, aluminum cans, brass, copper, dishwashers, gutters, microwaves, refrigerators and freezers with doors removed, stoves, clothes washers and dryers, air conditioners, metal cabinets, metal chain or wire fencing, clothes irons, railings, metal sheds, tire rims (with tires removed), metal window frames (with glass removed), bicycles, metal lawn furniture, rebar, aluminum siding, toasters, and wire hangers.
The Scrap Metal Recycling Program will be available every month of the year; however, in the event of extreme bad weather individual events may be cancelled.
To get more details online about the scrap metal program and other Union County recycling programs, visit ucnj.org/recycling. For information by phone, including weather-related cancellations, call the Union County Recycling Hotline, 908-654-9889. All are encouraged to recycle.
