Garfield's Department of Public Works is divided into nine divisions: Administrative, Buildings and Grounds, Road Services, Water, Shade Tree, Sewer, Recreation, Recycling and Vehicle Maintenance.

Administrative operates out of City Hall located at 111 Outwater Lane. Buildings and Grounds, Roads, Sewer, Recycling, Shade Tree and Vehicle Maintenance are located at the DPW Complex at 413 Midland Avenue. Recreation operates out of the Recreation Center located at 466 Midland Avenue.

Important duties include maintenance of public buildings, maintaining approximately 57 miles of roads from sweeping and plowing to leaf collection, maintaining sewer mains, and providing drinking water from 10 wells and connections to the Passaic Valley Water System and removing and planting shade trees, and weekly collection of recyclables.

Garbage Pick-Up:

The garbage collection schedule remains the same. If you do not know the days for garbage collection, call the DPW at the number above and they will assist you. The schedule is also available here on the city's web under Forms.

The following garbage container guidelines will help prevent litter and assist garbage collection efficiency:

• Garbage must placed in sturdy covered containers.
• Paper bags or cardboard boxes for garbage are not acceptable, these are recycable items.
• Garbage containers must not exceed 50 lbs.
• Garbage should not be placed at the curb before 4:00 pm the day before the collection.

Prohibited Materials:

The garbage collector will not pick up construction materials including concrete, asphalt, and dirt; lumber sheet rock, bricks, rocks. These items are the responsibility of the contractor or homeowner to dispose of. If you have any question as to what can be placed at the curb for disposal, please call the DPW.

White Goods and Metals:

Will be collected by appointment only on Thursdays. Please call the DPW by Wednesday of that week to schedule a pick-up. Metal may not be placed at the curb before 4:00 PM night before the collection. If you put out the metal without an appointment you will receive a summons. TVs can be dropped off at the DPW or call for pick-up.

Electronics and Tires:

Electronics recycling and tires recycling take place at the Garfield DPW Complex at 413 Midland Avenue.  Computers, Monitors, Wires/Cables, Keyboards, VCR’s, Telephones, DVD Players, Stereos and Microwave ovens and tires should be dropped off at the DPW Monday through Friday between 7:00 AM and 2:00 PM (no drop-off on holidays).

Appliances & T.V.’s:

Refrigerators, Freezers, A/C Units, Stoves, assorted metals, etc. are picked up once a week by appointment only.  Please call the DPW to schedule your pick-up.

Hazardous Waste Collection:

Hazardous Waste Collection event are run by the Bergen County Utilities Authority.  Please click here for hazardous waste information  www.bcua.org from the BCUA.

Litter:

Prohibited in public places: No person shall litter in any street, sidewalk or public place within the city. Sweeping litter into the street is prohibited. No person shall sweep any litter into the gutter, street or public place within the city. The owner of any private property shall maintain the property free of litter.

Dumping:

Prohibited. No person shall dispose or dump on public or private property or in any body of water. If any person does not comply with the above, summons will be issued.

Recycling Schedule Remains the Same:

Please refer to your residential recycling collection schedule.

Garbage/Recycling Pick-Up Schedule

Recycling Division

The Recycling Division is responsible for implementing and educating residents about the recycling program, collection of recyclables, recycling enforcement, clean communities program implementation and overseeing the garbage contractor. In 2005, the Recycling Division recycled tons of materials.

Residents are encouraged to reduce as much waste as possible to help reduce the costs of garbage disposal. One of the ways residents can reduce waste is by backyard composting.
The Recycling and Garbage Calendar is expected to be placed in the mail the first week of March. You can also call the recycling office at (973)546-2200 x 4224 and request a Recycling/Garbage Calendar or here on the city's web.

Leaf bags can be picked up free at the Department of Public Works yard located at 413 Midland Avenue (behind the police station) between the hours of 7:00 AM TO 3:00 PM Monday to Friday. Leaves will only be picked up in the brown leaf bags provided by the City on your sweeper day. Failure to put your leaves in these bags will result in a summons. No plastic bags will be accepted. Call the DPW for pick up or drop off the bags at the DPW after check in at the office.

Recycling Barrels:

All residences were given a blue recycling barrel in 1995. These barrels are the property of the City of Garfield and must remain with the property in the event it is sold. Please mark your barrel with your full address. Recycling barrels are no longer available. The DPW has recycling labels available that can be placed on a barrel purchased by the home owner.

Road Division

Garfield's Department of Public Works is divided into nine divisions: Administrative, Buildings and Grounds, Road The Road Division is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the CITY roadways. This includes at total of 57 miles of roadway. Maintenance includes street signs, pot hole repair, assisting Sewer and Water Divisions with closing holes at construction sites, plowing, leaf bag collection and street sweeping.

The following are the streets we paved in connection with Road Programs.

Snow Plowing / Salting Procedures:

The Department of Public Works would like to advise all residents of their Snow Plowing and Street Salting procedures for the upcoming winter months. Once it starts to snow, the Road Department will dispatch salt trucks to begin salting the County Roads and the designated Emergency Snow Routes. After these roads are made safe and passable, the secondary roads will be salted, if it is deemed necessary. This decision will be made based upon continuing weather conditions. Roads will be plowed in the following order:

1. County and Designated and Posted Emergency Snow Routes
2. Emergency Services Buildings (Fire Houses, Ambulance Corps, Rescue Squad, etc)
3. All secondary roads
4. City Parking Lots 

Each snowplow vehicle has been assigned a section to plow and will remain in that section until all roadways have been sufficiently cleaned. This may require the snowplow vehicle to make multiple passes on each street. City forces will be plowing each street from curb to curb during each snowfall. On occasion, due to the lack of areas between the sidewalk and curb, sidewalks and driveway aprons may become covered with snow that falls off the snowplow blade. City forces will not remove snow from any sidewalk or driveway apron in these instances. Please do not call the City Hall in this event. We regret this unfortunate inconvenience to any/all homeowners.

ORDINANCE NO. 216 SNOW AND OTHER IMPEDIMENTS states the following:

No person, firm or corporation, owner, tenant or occupant of any premises on any street shall throw, place or deposit any snow or ice into or upon any street in the City of Garfield Any violation of this Ordinance may result, upon conviction, in one (1) or more of the following penalties:

1. A fine not to exceed $ 500.00
2. Imprisonment not to exceed 90 days
3. Community Service not to exceed 90 days 

The Road Division has released their snow plowing / salting procedures to educate residents on how the City cleans up after a snow storm. Residents are reminded to shovel out fire hydrants that are on your property. This will help the Fire Department in the event of a fire on your street.

Sewer Division

Hours: 7 AM - 3:30 PM; Monday to Friday
IN AN EMERGENCY OR AFTER HOURS, THE SEWER DIVISION CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE 24/7 BY CALLING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AT 973-478-8500. PLEASE BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE PROMPTS CORRECTLY.

GARFIELD’S sanitary sewer system is made up of approximately 58 miles of main sewer line that services the entire City. The system conveys approximately 3.5 million gallons of wastewater per day to our regional treatment facility at the Passaic Valley Sewer Commission in Newark, New Jersey. The Sewer Division is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the entire system including equipment, manholes, and the maintenance and repair of all main lines within the sanitary system.
In addition to the sanitary sewer system the City also has the storm water sewer system. This system collects storm water run off from streets and sends it directly to streams, rivers and other open bodies of water. This water is not processed or filtered at any time. Storm drains are the responsibility of the Road DivisionThe Sewer Division has a crew available five days per week between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM.

Policy:

The City of Garfield Sewer Division will only clean out and flush all main lines. If a resident has a blockage, they must first call a plumber to check and alleviate the house blockage first. If, after cleaning, the plumber determines that it is the main line, the resident should call the Department of Public Works at (973) 546- 2200 X 4220.

Signs of a house stoppage include bubbling noises in a toilet, popping sounds from the drain or the odor of rotteneggs in the house.

Replacement of House Line Connections:

The homeowner is responsible for any repairs to their house line connections between the house and the edge of the curb line or roadway. From the edge of the curb line or roadway to the main line is the responsibility of the City, UNLESS THE RESIDENT IS RUNNING A NEW SEWER LINE FROM THE HOUSE. The City will assist a homeowner in locating a problem through the use of a television camera or through accumulated records. Please call the Sewer Office for more information at (973) 546-2200 x 4220.

Shade Tree Division

The Shade Tree Division is responsible for the care, maintenance and removal of City trees to see the liability for tree removal CLICK HERE.

Residents interested in having a tree planted in front of their house in the public right of way should call the Department of Public Works at (973) 546-2200 x 4223 to be placed on the consideration list.

New Tree Care:

• Residents who receive new trees should follow these guidelines for a healthy tree:  
• Keep all landscape equipment away from the tree (i.e. lawnmowers, line trimmers, etc.) Hitting the bark of the tree with a lawnmower or line trimmer will damage the bark of the tree and may cause it to die.
• Do not pile mulch around the trunk of the tree. This will cause the tree to suffocate and cause it to die.
• Water, water, water! For the first couple of years it will be necessary to keep the soil around the trunk of the tree moist. Try and water the tree at least twice per day: early in the morning and after the sun goes down.

Stormwater Management

What is stormwater? The official definition of stormwater under the N.J.A.C. 7:14A rules is as follows: 'Stormwater' means water resulting from precipitation (including rain and snow) that runs off the land's surface, is transmitted to the subsurface, or is captured by separate storm sewers or other sewage or drainage facilities or conveyed by snow removal equipment. Human activity is largely responsible for the stormwater pollution. Everything that we put on the ground or into the storm drain can end up in our water. Each of us has a responsibility to make sure these contaminants stay out of our water. Whether we have clean water is up to you. Learn more about what you can do by clicking here.

Important Stormwater Documents:

Stormwater Brochure

City of Garfield Stormwater Control Ordinance No. 3050, Adopted 12/30/2024

City of Garfield Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan

City of Garfield Stormwater Management Plan

Stormwater Quick Links:

NJPDES Tier A Municipal Stormwater General Permit

NJDEP Best Management Practices Manual

Clean Water NJ

Additional Stormwater Resources

Stormwater Ordinances

The following is a reference list for residents and business owners of Ordinances adopted by the City of Garfield in accordance with the Tier A Permit:

i. Pet Waste
ii. Wildlife Feeding
iii. Litter Control
iv. Improper Disposal of Waste
v. Containerized Yard Waste/Yard Waste Collection Program
vi. Private Storm Drain Inlet Retrofitting
vii. Illicit Connections