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Bernards Trash and Recycling, Explained: County Curbside Recycling, Clean Communities and the Pill Hill Landfill
How curbside recycling works in Bernards under the 2026 county agreement, what the township budgets for solid waste, the Clean Communities grant, air monitoring at the closed Pill Hill landfill, clothing-bin licenses and the refuse rule for commercial properties.
The short version
- Somerset County runs curbside recycling for Bernards: $28.16 per household in 2026.
- The township budgets about $307,000 for it in 2026, plus smaller solid-waste collection and disposal lines.
- The closed Pill Hill landfill is still monitored for air quality under a township contract.
Curbside recycling
On Jan. 27, 2026 the Committee approved an interlocal services agreement with the County of Somerset for 2026 recycling pickup (Res. #2026-0145, 5-0 on the consent agenda). The agreement’s terms, as the minutes print them: “The rate is $28.16 per household. The number of households will be adjusted on a quarterly basis, when and if appropriate.” The CFO’s certification adds that the amount budgeted for curbside recycling is transferred each year to the township’s Trust Fund, Reserve for Recycling, after the budget is adopted, and “these funds are earmarked exclusively for Recycling Expenditures.”
The 2026 introduced budget shows $306,690.56 for Interlocal Somerset County Curbside Recycling, up $16,190.56 (5.57%) from $290,500.00 in 2025, and a $26,880.29 Recycling Tonnage Grant.
For 2026 the Mayor recommended John Tompkins, and the Committee recommended Andrew McNally, to the Somerset County Solid Waste Advisory (Jan. 6).
Household trash and the budget
The Committee minutes from Nov. 2025 to Oct. 2026 contain no township contract for household garbage collection, and the record LocalWhy has reviewed does not say who collects household trash or on what schedule. The 2026 introduced budget lines:
| Line | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Solid Waste Collection, salaries and wages | $86,500.00 | $84,000.00 |
| Solid Waste Collection, other expenses | $41,600.00 | $40,600.00 |
| Solid Waste Disposal (salaries $85,949.84; other $133,050.00) | $218,999.84 | $214,167.20 |
| Interlocal Somerset County Curbside Recycling | $306,690.56 | $290,500.00 |
Clean Communities
On May 26, 2026 the Committee accepted a $72,394.53 grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the 2026 Clean Communities Program and inserted it into the budget (Res. #2026-0282, 5-0). The program funds litter clean-up.
The Pill Hill landfill
On Jan. 6, 2026 the Committee awarded a professional services contract to Michael Heumiller, LSRP, of T & M Associates for air monitoring at the closed Pill Hill Landfill for calendar 2026, charged to the Solid Waste Collection account (Res. #2026-0036, 5-0). The amounts differ within the resolution: its title says “Not to Exceed Amount of $11,750.00”; its contract terms say “not to exceed the amount of $12,500.00.” Monitoring results are not in the minutes.
Clothing bins
- Feb. 24, 2026: a license to Turnkey Enterprises LLC for one recycling clothing bin at Fellowship Village, 8000 Fellowship Road (Res. #2026-0178, 5-0).
- Oct. 27, 2026 agenda: renewal of the agreement and permit for American Recycling Technologies Inc. (ART) to place clothing bins on township property, Oct. 1, 2026 – Sept. 30, 2029, with a royalty of $3,000 per bin per year to “offset Green Initiatives and Recycling Efforts of the township” (Res. #2026-0421). The township had not posted minutes of the Oct. 27 meeting as of Nov. 1, 2026.
Refuse on non-residential property
Ord. #2603, adopted Aug. 25, 2026, says exterior areas of non-residential properties “shall not be used for the storage of accumulated refuse and rubbish for more than a two week period,” among other maintenance standards, with fines of up to $2,000; each day may be a separate offense. Homes are not covered. See Property maintenance ordinance.
Leaves and yard waste
On July 28, 2026 Public Works bought hooklift bodies and accessories for two trucks, including a 14-foot hooklift chipper body ($15,000 of the $447,186 order). On Oct. 13 a resident, Todd Edelstein, commented on fall-leaf property maintenance safety at public comment.
What is not known
- Who collects household trash, and the recycling pickup schedule (on the township’s Recycling & Disposal page, which LocalWhy has not reviewed).
- Pill Hill landfill monitoring results.
What residents can do
- Ask at public comment at Township Committee meetings about recycling, clothing bins and the landfill.
- Contact Somerset County about curbside recycling pickup, which the county provides.