New Jersey Garbage - Where Does New Jersey Trash Go?
New Jersey Garbage


Trash in New Jersey finds it’s final resting place in many different ways.  It depends on the trash type, and the county in which it come from.  Construction waste, unfortunately, ends up in a landfill… for the most part.  New Jersey has few landfills left, due to our dense population.  Construction waste that is not placed in a landfill in NJ, is taken taken to one of many transfer stations.  Here it is dumped and loaded (transferred) into trailers or rail cars, for disposal in out-of-state landfills.


Some household waste is also transformed to find its final resting place in landfills.  The rest faces incineration at one of the four or five waste-to-energy plants located in NJ.  While emissions from these plants are a bone of contention, the burn process converts the trash into real energy that helps to power cities.  Unfortunately, this ash is the bi-product that requires disposal.  Incinerator bottom ash (IBA) is a form of ash produced in incineration facilities. This material is discharged from the moving grate of municipal solid waste incinerators.

The Combustion Of New Jersey Trash

Following combustion, the ash typically has a small amount of ferrous metals contained within it. This ash goes through a standardized process so the material can separate out the contaminants in order for it’s use as aggregate. Following processing, the material can be termed IBA aggregate or processed IBA. It is this aggregate that has uses in these materials:

  • Bulk fill
  • Asphalt via re-melting at 1200 C to form slag, but energy intensive.
  • Cement bound materials
  • Lightweight blocks
  • Pavement concrete
New Jersey Trash - Where Does New Jersey Trash Go?
New Jersey Trash

Alternatively, if there are no local markets for the IBA, then the material will be typically goes for disposal in a landfill. Including the Kinsley Landfill in Kearny, NJ. This is why, we always encourage recycling to the customers of Mauriello Disposal. We also recommend donating goods that can be re-used and re-purposed. Items that will convert into other products are the best for recycling purposes.

New Jersey Garbage Disposal - Where Does New Jersey Trash Go?
New Jersey Garbage Disposal

Words By Mark Mauriello