Department of Public Works

136 Furler Street, Totowa, NJ 07512

Business Hours

Monday - Friday: 7:00am – 3:30pm

Saturdays: 8:00am – 1:00pm

Jim Niland, Superintendent

jniland@totowanj.org | (973) 956-1000 ext. 1072 | fax (973) 956-7298

Jim Both, Assistant Superintendent

(973) 956-1000 ext. 1073 | fax (973) 956-7298

Roxanne Urchak

(973) 956-1000 ext. 1071 | fax (973) 956-7298

The primary function of the Department of Public Works (DPW) is the maintenance of all township roadways, traffic signs and signals, and right of ways. DPW also handles the repair and maintenance of police cars, fire trucks, and administrative vehicles, including all Department of Public Works trucks and heavy equipment. Ground maintenance of municipal property, recreation fields and firehouses, along with snow removal, is also included.

SEWER

The primary function of the Totowa Sewer Department is to handle and manage the collection and conveyance of approximately 2,500,000 gallons per day of sanitary sewerage from individual users through the Borough and to pump it to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners located in Newark, New Jersey where it is properly treated and disposed of.

The Department consists of a network of seven (7) pumping stations located in various sections of the town and convey the sewerage to one central pump station which then pumps all the sewerage collected to Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners through a pipeline shared with Little Falls and West Paterson.

GARBAGE/RECYCLING SCHEDULE 2023

VEGETATIVE WASTE SCHEDULE AVAILABLE SPRING 2023

RECYCLING

The Department is also responsible for the recycling center. The yard is open Saturday mornings for those residents who are unable to stop during business hours. For more information on Recycling, see below.

VEGETATIVE WASTE

If you would like to purchase vegetative waste bags, the Department of Public Works sells bags for 40 cents each. These bags can also be purchased at the Municipal Clerk's Office.

LARGE BRANCHES

The DPW also removes large branches with the chipper machine. Please call the Department of Public Works at 973-956-1000, ext. 1071 and ask to be put on the list for collection of large branches with the chipper machine.

RECYCLING REQUIREMENTS

The Recycling Market’s requirements have changed and will no longer be accepting any type of plastic bag with recycling items. This includes putting your commingled or paper recycling in a plastic bag.

Please do not place any of your recyclables in any type of plastic bag. Some examples are grocery store, department store, garbage or clear plastic recycling bags. Your recycling must be placed loose, in a recycling container only, or it will not be collected. Click here for more information.

CHRISTMAS TREES

Christmas trees will be collected every Thursday during the month of January. You must bring the tree to your curb Wednesday night for Thursday morning pick-up. These Thursday collections are for real trees only - artificial trees can be thrown away with your regular garbage collection.

NOTE: Trees CANNOT be placed in a plastic bag or contain any lights/wiring.

BATTERY IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

With more and more devices being powered by batteries, it can get confusing knowing what types of batteries you have on hand and what to do with them once they reach their end-of-life. Some old batters can even cause fires when disposed improperly. Thankfully, the Battery Identification Guide available at www.call2recycle.org/avoid-the-spark-nj will not only help you to identify battery types but also explain how to properly manage your old batteries. Learn more about recycling at recycle.nj.gov.