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2 Million lbs. Every 24 Hours

Sep 01, 2024

A concrete floor sits vacant at 7 a.m. Moments later, large trucks drive in and out, in and out, unloading mounds of garbage from nearby homes and businesses. By midday, the concrete is covered in waste. By closing time, a staggering mountain of trash has taken over the space. 

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BEFORE

That’s just a typical Tuesday at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) Transfer Station.

The building receives nearly 2 million lbs. of trash every day from Atlantic County homes and businesses. 

“Once the can goes to the curb, most people don’t think about their trash ever again,” said ACUA President Matthew DeNafo. “Visitors are shocked when they tour our facility and see how much waste comes in.”

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AFTER

The mountain of waste becomes smaller and smaller overnight as ACUA crews load, transport and bury the entire pile in the landfill by sunrise each day.  

“The modern landfill is an incredible tool to managing our waste,” said DeNafo. “However, it’s only one part of the solution. We could all be doing more to minimize our impact.”


RECYCLING


Recycling is the most convenient way residents can minimize the trash they produce. It has been the law in New Jersey since 1987. 

In Atlantic County, residents can recycle plastics (with numbers 1, 2, and 5 on the bottom), cardboard, paper, glass and metals. This covers most of the single-use items encountered in daily life, such as yogurt containers, milk jugs, junk mail, pickle jars, egg cartons, soup cans, or packaging from online orders.

“Our team offers collection, educational materials, and containers,” said DeNafo.  “We make it very easy to participate.” 

Most Atlantic County residents are eligible to receive a free 20-gallon recycling bucket every four years. Large 96-gallon recycling carts are available for $80. Items do not need to be separated; they can be placed together into the same recycling container.

“Recycling costs less than landfilling. In addition to helping the environment by conserving natural resources, recycling can save your town or your business money on trash disposal costs,” said DeNafo.


COMPOSTING


Separating yard waste and food waste from regular trash greatly minimizes waste production.   

Yard waste composting, which includes tree limbs, leaves, and grass, is available to all Atlantic County residents, and ACUA offers curbside collection in many towns. 

Food waste composting is not offered through a county-wide collection system but can be done in most backyards or even basements. 

“Composting may seem daunting at first, but it only takes a bin and some redirection when tossing out leftovers,” said DeNafo. 

ACUA sells a 128-gallon home composting bin for $60. It also provides instructions, steps for building your own outdoor bin, and guidelines for worm composting (great for indoors) on its website. ACUA also partners with the Atlantic County Master Composters on an annual master class for residents looking to dive deeply into the subject.


THE FUTURE



Atlantic County’s integrative waste management system currently includes a landfill, transfer station, composting facility and recycling center. The ACUA is currently exploring a waste conversion technology project and expects to receive formal proposals from three selected companies by the end of the year.

“We are actively researching leading technology that can provide a sustainable solution for our community,” said DeNafo.

ACUA is also exploring partnerships with local donation centers to make donating and reusing items more accessible. 

“While we’re doing the work to manage waste, we invite our community to join us in reducing, recycling and composting all that they can.”