Roads and utilities

Trash and recycling

Somerset County collects Bernards' curbside recycling under a 2026 agreement at $28.16 per household; the 2026 budget carries $306,690.56 for it. The township also took a $72,394.53 state Clean Communities grant and pays for air monitoring at the closed Pill Hill landfill.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

County curbside recycling at $28.16 per household for 2026 Last moved

Recycling. Curbside recycling pickup is provided by Somerset County under an interlocal services agreement. For 2026 the rate is $28.16 per household, with the household count adjusted quarterly (Res. #2026-0145, Jan. 27, 2026, 5-0). The 2026 introduced budget appropriates $306,690.56 for “Interlocal Somerset County Curbside Recycling” (2025: $290,500.00). The CFO’s certification says the money is moved after budget adoption to a trust fund “earmarked exclusively for Recycling Expenditures.”

Household trash. No township garbage-collection contract appears in the Committee minutes from Nov. 2025 to Oct. 2026, and the record LocalWhy has reviewed does not say who collects household trash. The 2026 budget carries Solid Waste Collection ($86,500 salaries, $41,600 other expenses) and Solid Waste Disposal ($218,999.84) lines.

Grants and the landfill. The township accepted a $72,394.53 NJDEP Clean Communities grant for 2026 (May 26, 5-0). It hired T & M Associates for air monitoring at the closed Pill Hill landfill for 2026; the resolution’s title says up to $11,750.00 and its body says $12,500.00 (Jan. 6, 2026).

Refuse on commercial property. Ord. #2603, adopted Aug. 25, 2026, bars non-residential properties from storing accumulated refuse outdoors for more than two weeks; see Property maintenance ordinance.

What residents can do. Clothing-bin and recycling items come before the Township Committee on its consent agenda. The explainer has the details. Corrections: info@localwhy.org.

Trash and recycling, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Resolved Air monitoring at the closed Pill Hill landfill renewed for 2026Res. #2026-0036 hired T & M Associates (Michael Heumiller, LSRP) for 2026 air monitoring at the Pill Hill Landfill, 5-0. The title gives up to $11,750.00; the contract terms in the body give $12,500.00.
  2. Resolved 2026 county curbside recycling agreement: $28.16 per householdRes. #2026-0145 approved the 2026 interlocal services agreement for Somerset County to provide recycling pickup at $28.16 per household, the count adjusted quarterly. Adopted 5-0 on the consent agenda.
  3. Resolved $72,394.53 Clean Communities grant acceptedRes. #2026-0282 accepted a $72,394.53 NJDEP grant for the 2026 Clean Communities Program and inserted it into the 2026 budget, 5-0.

Explainers

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Meetings

  • Township Committee — October 27, 2026

    A regular meeting. The agenda lists recognitions of National Disability Employment Awareness Month and First Responders Appreciation Month, the reappointment of the shared municipal court judge, a final change order reducing the 2025 Reivax road contract by $73,236.70, and a snow removal contract. The township had not posted minutes of this meeting as of Nov. 1, 2026.

  • Township Committee — May 26, 2026

    The Committee introduced Ordinance #2599, amending the uses permitted in the E-1 to E-5 office zones, and referred it to the Planning Board, with a hearing set for June 23; it became the township's data center ban. It tabled the construction fee ordinance (#2598) to fix a typographical error, accepted a $72,394.53 Clean Communities grant and let the Farmstead's Friends apply for a county preservation grant, all 5-0. Two people spoke.

  • Township Committee — February 24, 2026

    The Committee adopted the 2026 Fourth Round Spending Plan for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and an agreement extending affordability controls on Ridge Oak's 247 age-restricted units for 40 years to 2072, introduced capital Ordinance #2594 ($1,449,000.00) and received the Tax Collector's 2025 report, all 5-0. Two people spoke.

  • Township Committee — January 27, 2026

    The Committee adopted Ordinance #2592, letting the 2026 budget rise up to 3.5% instead of 2% and banking any unused amount, and #2591, a wetlands easement. It hired Boswell for a Culberson Road storm sewer study ($40,500.00), joined the county recycling program at $28.16 per household and appointed Janice Fields to the Sewerage Authority, all 5-0. No members of the public spoke.

  • Township Committee — January 6, 2026

    The 2026 reorganization. Brett Hodges and John Tompkins took office, and the Committee elected Ana Duarte McCarthy Mayor and John Tompkins Deputy Mayor. A 5-0 consent agenda appointed the 2026 professionals and board members, set the meeting rules, temporary appropriations and the 2026 meeting dates, and moved legal notices to the township website from March 1, 2026.

Sources for this overview

  1. Township Committee minutes, Jan. 27, 2026 (Res. #2026-0145, county recycling)
  2. Township Committee minutes, May 26, 2026 (Res. #2026-0282, Clean Communities)
  3. Township Committee minutes, Jan. 6, 2026 (Res. #2026-0036, Pill Hill landfill)
  4. Bernards Township 2026 introduced budget
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