In Seaside Heights, Garbage Cans (With Lids) Now Required

Trash bags in Seaside Heights, N.J. (Photo: Seaside Heights Public Works)

A lot has been made in recent years of Seaside Heights cleaning up its image. But a new ordinance is aimed at – literally – keeping the town clean.

The borough council last week enacted a new ordinance requiring all residents to use trash cans to dispose of refuse. The borough decided to put the new law into place after public works crews began noticing an increase in the number of garbage bags that had been broken into by sea gulls, with trash strewn all over the adjacent street.

An earlier version of the ordinance required more sturdy black trash bags to be used instead of the more flimsy white home garbage bags. But the final version passed unanimously last week requires all bags to be placed in cans.

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“It has to be in a can, and it has to be a lidded can,” said Borough Administrator Christopher Vaz.

Residents at the meeting cheered the law. As it turns out, Public Works officials were taking pictures every morning and sending them to the code enforcement team. Eventually, the matter made it to the desk of the administrator.

“When I asked, they said there really wasn’t an ordinance on the books,” said Vaz.