March Recycling Calendar - First Saturday, E-waste, Household Hazardous Waste & RX Drop-offs

First Saturday of the Month Drop-off in Bridgewater March 7
BRIDGEWATER – Somerset County Freeholder Melonie Marano, recycling liaison, invites residents to take advantage of the next First Saturday of the Month Drop-off event on March 7, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Somerset County Recycling Center, located at 40 Polhemus Lane, Bridgewater, NJ 08807. Proof of residency is required (a current driver's license, valid lease, tax bill or any other bill with a Somerset County address). Pre-registration is not required. No businesses or commercial vehicles are allowed.

First Saturday drop-off events enable busy residents to recycle tires and the usual curbside items in one fell swoop. Residents can drop off up to eight tires – with or without rims – scrap metal, used motor oil, oil filters, antifreeze and the usual curbside materials, including chipboard items, plastic bottles and containers marked #1 through #7. Chipboard items include gift, shoe, shirt and all retail boxes, as well as cereal, cookie, pasta, and cake and cracker boxes without the plastic liners. Accepted also are poster board, greeting cards, backing from writing pads and empty, dried-out steel paint cans.

Somerset County no longer accepts textiles at First Saturday of the Month drop-offs. Please continue to recycle your used textiles at any local charity donation bin.

For more information about First Saturday events, visit www.co.somerset.nj.us/1stSat or call the Somerset County Recycling Center at 732-469-3363.

Canned goods and non-perishable food donations for needy residents are welcome at First Saturday of the Month drop-off events or put canned goods in a plastic bag on the day of your usual recycling pickup dates. Items are delivered to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County. Perishable items and food in glass containers are not accepted.

Household hazardous waste and electronic waste are not accepted on the First Saturday of the Month drop-off events at the recycling center. You can recycle household hazardous waste at any of the scheduled Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events held at different locations around the county. Electronics can be dropped off free of charge on certain Saturdays in Hillsborough and on weekdays at a Bridgewater and Hillsborough location.

For a complete listing of recyclable items, recycling events and more, visit www.co.somerset.nj.us/recycle or call the Somerset County Recycling Center at 732-469-3363.

To stay up to date with Somerset County events and information, sign up for free email alerts at www.co.somerset.nj.us/subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Electronic Waste Drop-off in Hillsborough March 7
HILLSBOROUGH – Somerset County Freeholder Melonie Marano, recycling liaison, urges residents to declutter their homes of the many electronic items that tend to accumulate. The next free-of-charge Saturday electronic waste drop-off event is March 7, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South County Public Works Garage at 410 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844. Proof of residency is required (a current driver's license, valid lease, tax bill or any other bill with a Somerset County address). Pre-registration is not required. No businesses or commercial vehicles are allowed.

Following is a complete list of e-waste drop-off dates, times and locations in 2020:
Saturday e-waste drop-offs: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., on April 4, May 2, June 6, July 11, Aug. 1, Sept. 12, Oct. 3, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. Located at the South County Public Works Garage, 410 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844.

Weekday drop-offs: Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., located at North County Public Works Facility, Building B, 411 Chimney Rock Road - north of Route 22 - Bridgewater, NJ 08807, and the South County Public Works Garage, 410 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844.

Batteries are not accepted: Residents can recycle household hazardous waste including lithium and rechargeable batteries at any of the five scheduled Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events held at different locations around the county. AA, AAA, D, C and 9-volt batteries can be disposed of in the regular trash.

For more information about recycling electronics, contact the Somerset County Solid Waste Division at 908-231-7109, email solidwaste@co.somerset.nj.us or visit www.co.somerset.nj.us/e-waste.

A complete listing of recyclable items, recycling drop-off events (First Saturday of the Month, household hazardous waste, medicine, e-waste and tire) and more is available at www.co.somerset.nj.us/recycle.

Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off March 21 in Basking Ridge
BASKING RIDGE – Somerset County Freeholder Melonie Marano, recycling liaison, invites residents to take advantage of Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events to clean up household hazardous waste items that have accumulated around the home.

The first Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) drop-off in 2019 for Somerset County homeowners and farmers is March 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Public Works Garage, located at 277 South Maple Ave., Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

Proof of residency is required (a current driver's license, valid lease, tax bill or any other bill with a Somerset County address). The program is free to county residents.

Household hazardous waste includes banned or outdated pesticides, antifreeze, transmission fluid, brake fluids, wet-cell car batteries, motor oil (five-gallon maximum), fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent light bulbs, ammonia-based cleaners, gasoline, kerosene, mercury switches, oil-based paints, pool chemicals, propane tanks and rechargeable and button-cell batteries.

For more information on the types and quantities of materials accepted, contact the Somerset County Division of Solid Waste Management at 908-231-7031, or email solidwaste@co.somerset.nj.us or visit www.co.somerset.nj.us/HHW

DO NOT drop off tires, electronics (computers and televisions), infectious waste, gas cylinders, or smoke detectors. Air conditioners and dehumidifiers will NOT be accepted. This drop-off is for residents only. Proof of residency is required (current driver's license, valid lease, tax bill or any other bill with a Somerset County address). Pre-registration is not required. No businesses or commercial vehicles are allowed, and no 55-gallon drums are accepted. Residents can dispose of tires on the First Saturday of the Month Drop-off events.

A complete listing of recyclable items, recycling drop-off events (First Saturday of the Month, household hazardous waste, medicine, e-waste and tire) and much more is available at www.co.somerset.nj.us/recycle .

To stay up to date with Somerset County events and information, sign up for free email alerts at www.co.somerset.nj.us/subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter .

For more information about recycling electronics, contact the Somerset County Solid Waste Division at 908-231-7109, email solidwaste@co.somerset.nj.us or visit www.co.somerset.nj.us/e-waste.

Rx Disposal Drop-off Program March 21 in Basking Ridge
Somerset County Sheriff Darrin J. Russo and the Somerset County Solid Waste Management Division invite county residents to take advantage of the Rx Mission Drive-in/Drop-off medicine-collection program. The program is held in conjunction with scheduled Somerset County Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. Sheriff's officers are on hand to accept unwanted or outdated prescription and over-the-counter medications from residents for safe disposal.

The first Rx drop-off of 2020 will be held Saturday, March 21, at the Bernards Township Public Works Garage, located at 277 South Maple Ave., Basking Ridge, NJ 07920. The program is sponsored by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, the Somerset County Solid Waste Management Division and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Medications should be dropped off in their original packages or bottles. The name of the medication should be visible. Illegal drugs, liquid medications, needles and sharps should not be brought to the drop-off.

In Somerset County, needles and syringes of any kind can be dropped off at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, located at 110 Rehill Ave. in Somerville, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call the hospital at 908-685-2200 or the New Jersey Hospital Association at 609-275-4000 for more information about the Safe Syringe Program.

Residents who are unable to participate in the scheduled drop-off events can take advantage of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Medicine Collection DropBox, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, no questions asked. The dropbox is located on the lower level of the Somerset County Administration Building at 20 Grove St. in Somerville, near the entrance to the Sheriff’s Office.

For residents’ convenience, additional 24/7 dropboxes are located at participating municipalities as follows:
Bernards Township Police Department, 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920, 908-766-1122 , 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Bound Brook Police Department Lobby, 226 Hamilton St., Bound Brook, NJ 08805, 732-356-0800; Branchburg Police Department, 590 Old York Road at Route 202 North, Branchburg, NJ 08876, 908-526-3830; Franklin Township Police Department, 495 DeMott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873, 732-873-5533; Hillsborough Township Police Department, 379 S. Branch Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, 908-369-4323; North Plainfield Police Department, 263 Somerset St., North Plainfield, NJ 07060, 908-769-2937; Warren Township Police Department, 44 Mountain Blvd., Warren, NJ 07059, 908-753-1146.

For more information regarding medicine collection, contact Capt. Steve SanAntonio at 908-231-7168, Sheriff’s Officer Dave Daneker at 908-231-7140, ext. 9, or visit www.co.somerset.nj.us/recycle and click on “Home Medical Waste.”

NOTE: Under NO circumstances should needles be put in any type of container and placed out for recycling collections. Needles and sharps should NOT be brought to First Saturday or Household Hazardous Waste drop-off events. More Project Medicine Drop information is available at the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

To stay up to date with Somerset County events and information, sign up for free email alerts at www.co.somerset.nj.us/subscribe or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.