Public Works

Contact Us

6:30am to 3:00pm

201-670-3980

473 Doremus Avenue

The Department of Public Works is responsible for sanitation, recycling, municipal services and a host of other services in Glen Rock.

All rear-yard and curbside sanitation and recycling pickups are scheduled by route; to determine if your residence included the North/West or South/East route, please refer to the DPW Route Map (link below).

Interesting Facts about DPW

Here are some interesting facts about the DPW and the service they provide:

The DPW considers the printed Borough calendar that is distributed at the beginning of each year to be their most definitive schedule. If you have a question about the sanitation schedule, check your Borough calendar! (Note: The calendar on this website follows the printed calendar plus includes updates necessitated by weather abnormalities and other unforeseen circumstances.)
All rear-yard and curbside sanitation and recycling pickups are scheduled by route; to determine if your residence included the North/West or South/East route, please refer to the DPW Route Map.
On curbside pickup days, rubbish or recycling should be placed at the curb after 7:00 p.m. the evening prior to and before 6:00 a.m. the morning of a scheduled pickup day.
A general rule of thumb on Rubbish Collection day is, “If it’s out on the curb, it must be rubbish!” Please don’t leave bikes or even garbage containers near the curb unless you want them hauled away.

Sanitation

Garbage Removal for Public Spaces
The Department of Public Works’ Sanitation Group is also responsible for the pickup of garbage at all public spaces in the Borough. This includes all parks and recreation areas, Board of Education buildings (schools, offices, etc.), the Public Library, the Municipal Building, firehouse, ambulance headquarters, and the Municipal Pool as well as the containers located on Rock Road and other heavy traffic areas. The DPW also collects the garbage at all houses of worship in the Borough.

If you would like to report a public space with excess garbage, please call (201) 670 – 3980.

Local business owners are responsible for hiring private contractors to handle their garbage and recycling.

Rear Yard Garbage

In Glen Rock, normal household garbage is picked up twice a week from homeowners’ rear yards. Pick up days follow a set schedule by area; normal routines are only interrupted by National Holidays. The annual Borough Calendar, mailed to homeowners in January, publishes pickup dates for the entire calendar year.

Household garbage is normally scheduled to be picked up twice a week, but it is important to note that National Holidays interrupt the regular collection schedule so be sure to check the Borough Calendar for specific dates. To determine if your residence is included the North/West or South/East route, please refer to the DPW Route Map.

North/West Route (Monday and Thursday pickup):

Homes located west of Maple Avenue, AND
Homes located east of Maple Avenue bounded by Ackerman Avenue, Rock Road, and the Ridgewood - Glen Rock boundary line.
Click here to see the DPW Route Map

South/East Route (Tuesday and Friday pickup):

Homes located east of Maple Avenue, excluding the area bounded by Ackerman Avenue, Rock Road, and the Ridgewood - Glen Rock boundary line.
Click here to see the DPW Route Map

What Will Be Picked Up

Rear yard garbage pickup service includes all waste, animal, fish, fowl, fruit, and vegetable matter resulting from food consumption.

PLEASE, TAKE NOTICE: Residents who place Recyclables in their garbage cans are in violation of the Recycling Ordinance. This may result in not having your garbage cans emptied until the materials are removed and recycled and, in addition, you may receive a summons for a court appearance, resulting in a heavy fine.

Container Type & Location
Garbage will be removed from two 30-gallon capacity rigid plastic containers with tight fitting lids.

Containers must be located behind the front building line, readily visible and accessible for efficient pickup

Note:
Plastic containers will crack in severe cold weather. Reasonable care will be taken to prevent damage to your plastic containers during cold weather. However, the Borough must disclaim any responsibility for such damage.

Dos and Don'ts

Here’s a list of handy Dos & Don’ts to keep in mind for Rear Year Pickup

DO:

Keep your two (2) plastic garbage cans (30-gallon capacity) in good condition with tight fitting lids. This eliminates the problem of odor, flies, and vermin. Plastic can liners are also helpful for this problem. Wash the containers regularly to remove any stuck debris to prevent odor.
For health reasons, all garbage must be bagged, loose garbage in containers will not be picked up.
Have containers in place by 6:00 a.m. every collection day. Actual pickup time may vary.
Leave containers outside. Insurance regulations prohibit Borough employees from entering any structure to make pickups and no exceptions will be permitted.
Have a path cleared – shoveled when necessary – from the street to the containers in snowy and icy weather.
Call 670-3980 if your garbage has been missed, to lodge a complaint or make a compliment. Please place this call prior to 1:00pm on the same day in the case of a miss or complaint so we can correct the situation promptly; calls received after 1:00 p.m. must wait until the following day for correction.
Notify the borough at 670-3980 of any misconduct or damage done by Sanitation personnel. Such damage must be personally observed to validate claims.
Keep your dogs secure so that sanitation personnel are not subject to injury when entering your property.
Bundle or wrap pet excrement so that it is not a health hazard or odor problem in handling. Plastic bag liners are required in such cases.

DO NOT:

Place newspapers, magazines, junk mail, aluminum and tin cans, plastic soda bottles, detergent containers, milk and water jugs, and glass containers in garbage cans; they must be recycled.

Monthly Rubbish Collection

In order to provide residents with an easy way to dispose of household rubbish, the Borough provides monthly curbside of pickup of items that cannot be disposed of in normal rear yard garbage or curbside recycling. Rubbish Collection is monthly on designated Wednesdays by residential area. For more information, see the tabs below.

Rubbish will be picked up once a month according to the schedule below, but it is important to note that Official Holidays interrupt the collection schedule so be sure to check the Borough Calendar for specific dates. To determine if your residence is included the North/West or South/East route, please refer to the DPW Route Map

North/West Route (First Wednesday of the Month):

Homes located west of Maple Avenue, AND
Homes located east of Maple Avenue bounded by Ackerman Avenue, Rock Road, and the Ridgewood - Glen Rock boundary line.

South/East Route (Third Wednesday of the Month):

Homes located east of Maple Avenue, excluding the area bounded by Ackerman Avenue, Rock Road, and the Ridgewood - Glen Rock boundary line.

All rubbish should be placed at the curb after 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening and before 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning on scheduled pickup days.

Official Holidays

The holidays below may affect the monthly rubbish schedule:

New Year's Day,
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday,
Lincoln's Birthday,
President's Day,
Good Friday,
Memorial Day,
Independence Day,
Labor Day,
Columbus Day,
Veteran's Day,
Thanksgiving Day, and
Christmas Day.

See your Borough Calendar or the calendar on this Glen Rock website for schedule changes necessitated by holidays.

What Will Be Picked Up

All normal household materials such as wooden boxes, appliances, furnishings, household equipment, utensils, and any other material that is not considered garbage and is not eligible for curbside recycling pickup (including styrofoam - regularly scheduled recycling options for styrofoam will be available beginning in 2020), will be picked up on monthly Rubbish Collection days.

Note:
Refrigerator and freezer doors must be removed before placing at the curb. The Borough urges residents to request the vendor take the older appliances known to contain Freon gas, when the new unit is delivered.

What Won't Be Picked Up
The following items will not be taken on Rubbish Collection days:

Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, aluminum and tin cans, plastic soda bottles, detergent containers, milk and water jugs, glass containers and cardboard boxes should not put out on Rubbish Collection days; they must be recycled.
Soil, rocks, stones, and other such debris will not be picked up on Rubbish Days. The Compost Center on Doremus Avenue regularly accepts soil, but before disposing of rocks and stone, check with the Recycling Center to determine if they are accepting rocks and stones.
Wooden pallets will not be picked up.
Propane gas tanks will not be picked up.
Construction Materials: The Borough will not pick up or dispose of any type of building materials or furnishings from contractual construction jobs.
Vehicular Parts: The Borough will not pick up or dispose of any vehicular parts.
Any concrete, mortar, plaster, or similar material

Fire Damaged Goods: The Borough will not pick up or dispose of materials or furnishings of any kind that emanate from a house fire or other unusual damage to a property. The owners of the property must dispose of such materials and furnishings at their own expense.

Container Type & Location
A general rule of thumb on Rubbish Collection day is, “If it’s out on the curb, it must be rubbish!” Read these points to be sure you know where and how to leave your rubbish.

All rubbish should be placed at the curb after 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening and before 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning on scheduled pickup days.
Rubbish must be in clear plastic bags, bundled, or securely tied for easy handling and to prevent blowing and littering.
Large items do not need to be bundled; no bundled, or containerized rubbish shall exceed 4 feet in length or 40 pounds in weight.
All acceptable rubbish and containers left at the curb will be taken and compacted. Therefore, reusable metal or plastic trash cans or garbage barrels are not acceptable for holding rubbish on curbside rubbish pick up days. In cases where rubbish is at the curbside in reusable containers, the rubbish will be passed by.
If residents err and place rubbish at the curb on Wednesday when there is no scheduled pickup, said rubbish must be removed by 8:00 a.m. the following morning or residents shall be subject to receiving a summons.

Municipal Services

The Municipal Services team of the Department of Public Works is responsible for the upkeep of Glen Rock’s public spaces. Municipal Services’ responsibilities include:

Snow removal
Leaf pick-up
Field maintenance and lining
Planting, trimming and removal of shade trees
Maintaining sanitary sewers and storm drains
Dead animal removal
Maintaining local roads and parking lot
Installing flags and decorative banners on street posts
Hanging street banner across Rock Road
Installing street signs
Grounds keeping for all public spaces including the pool, parks, buildings, Board of Education property, etc.
Cleaning and maintaining public restrooms