By: Najla Alexander
Middlesex County officials announced that the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA) will implement an Automatic Side Load (ASL) service starting on August 1, 2025, for single-stream, curbside recycling.
Each participating municipality and all its residents will receive 95-gallon wheeled carts with lids to replace the blue barrels or rectangular carts currently in use, prior to the new service commencing, MCPO officials say. 
MCPO officials stated that residents should continue using the existing blue containers until their first recycling pick-up in August; at that time, they will be required to use the new 95-gallon cart. Each cart has a serial number and a barcode linked to the corresponding resident’s address.
Residents may keep their old totes and bins for uses other than curbside recycling. If residents wish to dispose of their old blue containers, they may place them in the new cart for pickup with their recycling, according to Middlesex County officials.
“This is a major improvement to our curbside recycling collection program and will provide more capacity, easier movement of the container for the homeowner, and cleaner streets,” said MCIA Executive Director H. James Polos. “The lids will keep recycling material dry, eliminate windblown littering, and keep rodents out.”
MCPO officials say that with the delivery of the new carts, residents will also receive a pamphlet outlining the new ASL recycling rules. The carts will be picked up by a specially equipped truck with a mechanical arm on collection day. Overall, the recycling process will be faster and safer.
No materials left on the ground or next to the cart will be picked up by the ASL vehicle. The cart must be easily accessible from the street, with a minimum of 4 feet of clearance on both sides. The carts are for single-stream comingled materials; all approved recyclables can be placed in the cart, according to Middlesex County officials.
“These new containers are part of our new curbside recycling agreement, which also fixes recycling rates for up to five years. This shared service provides budget stability for municipalities in a very turbulent marketplace,” said MCIA Chairman James Nolan.
Other recent improvements to the recycling program, implemented by the MCIA, include making the program paperless and utilizing GIS mapping for more efficient pick-up routes, MCPO officials stated. Recycling coordinators use tablets to remediate recycling issues and increase compliance by receiving emails and pictures.
According to MCPO officials, currently, 17 municipalities participate in the curbside recycling program. These municipalities include Cranbury, Dunellen, Helmetta, Jamesburg, Middlesex, Milltown, Monroe, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Piscataway, Plainsboro, Sayreville, South Amboy, South Plainfield, South River, and Spotswood.
Residents who have questions should contact their local Recycling Coordinator in their municipality or visit middlesexcountynj.gov/curbside.