It Is Completely Illegal To Throw Out These Items in NJ

Trying to do a bit of decluttering?

It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how many times I take a weekend to declutter there is still so much stuff left over to get rid of during my next major cleaning session.

We accumulate a lot, don't we?

Before you fill up that black trash bag to toss out, you should make sure that you're not engaging in some illegal activity. New Jersey has a few things that are completely illegal to just throw out in the garbage and need to be disposed of properly.

The 9 Things You Can't Throw in the Garbage in New Jersey

Car Batteries Can't Go in the Dumpster

There's so much that could go wrong if you were to throw out a car battery. For one, they're mostly lithium-based. You wouldn't want an entire landfill to catch on fire because a spark was ignited from one, would you? Contact your local municipality to find out a pickup/dropoff location or some auto repair shops will take the old batteries.

2.) Computer Monitors

Both computers and their monitors can potentially leak toxic chemicals into the ground if disposed of willy-nilly. You can bring them to a New Jersey E-Cycle location or Staples offers recycling for old tech.

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3.) Computers themselves

See above.

4.) Drywall

Bring your drywall to the local recycling center. Some chemicals found in drywall can be corrosive to the metal in dumpsters, causing damage over time.

5.) Mercury Oxide Batteries

The phrase that NJ likes to use for these types of batteries is, "If it's rechargeable, it's recyclable." You can contact your local recycling center here.

6.) Motor Oil

New Jersey has used oil collection sites where they reprocess or refine the oil to be used as a lubricating oil or boiler fuel.

7.) Nicad Batteries

A NiCad battery is a rechargeable battery made of nickel and cadmium. They're essentially banned now because they're allegedly an environmental hazard according to Wikipedia.

8.) TVs

For one, there's SOOOO much plastic in a TV. That should be enough reason for you to NOT just toss it into the garbage.

9.) Yard Waste

Most towns prohibit yard waste from being put into trash bags and thrown out with the rest of the garbage. Usually, yard waste is picked up by the municipality on a designated day during the season.

Source: Earth911.com

While we're on the topic of illegal activity, here are baby names that are illegal in New Jersey: