Trenton Environmental

Collection labelTrenton, Mercer Co.

Trenton sits where Assunpink Creek meets the Delaware River, and much of what a household throws out, pours out or sweeps into the street can end up in one of them. A local recycling or hauling service can take on the big jobs; the everyday routes are in the sheets below.

Recycling here is a county program, garbage is a City service, and chemicals and electronics wait for set collection days. Older homes add lead and radon to the list. For yard and garden projects, local resources on gardening and home improvement can help you plan the next step.

Locality: Trenton, Mercer Co., N.J.

The herbarium

Twelve Sheets in Three Folders

Each guide is mounted like a pressed specimen, with a label telling you what it covers and how long it takes to read.

No. 01Recycle & DisposeTrenton Recycling GuideHow curbside recycling works in Trenton under the Mercer County program: the 2026 Wednesday schedule, what is accepted, what contaminates a load, where to get a bucket and how to report a missed pickup.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 02Recycle & DisposeHousehold Hazardous Waste in Mercer CountyWhere Trenton residents can take old paint thinner, pesticides, propane tanks, motor oil and fluorescent bulbs: the Mercer County Improvement Authority’s three 2026 collection days, the accepted list and how to store and transport chemicals safely.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 03Recycle & DisposeElectronics Recycling in New JerseyWhat New Jersey’s Electronic Waste Management Act means for Trenton households: which devices are banned from the trash, why the City will not take them at the curb, where Mercer County collects them and how to prepare a device first.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 04Recycle & DisposeStorm Drains and Stormwater in TrentonWhere Trenton’s rainwater ends up, why nearly a fifth of the city lies in a floodplain, the stormwater rules the City adopted from the state’s model ordinances, and what not to pour into drains or flush down toilets.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 05Rivers & ParksThe Delaware River at TrentonWhy Trenton sits at a turning point of the Delaware River: the head of tide, a ten-foot tidal change, a drainage area of 6,780 square miles, the river’s record floods at the Trenton gauge and how the river went from polluted to celebrated.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 06Rivers & ParksAssunpink Creek and Flooding in TrentonThe creek that runs through the heart of Trenton: its 90.6-square-mile watershed, its record floods measured by USGS, why the city’s location stacks up floodwater, and the City’s own advice for before and after a flood.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 07Rivers & ParksRiver Cleanups and Green Volunteering in TrentonHow Trenton residents can help keep streets, riverbanks and parks clean: New Jersey’s Clean Communities program, Mercer County’s adopt-a-highway and beach programs, the Trenton Green Team and practical safety rules for a cleanup day.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 08Rivers & ParksTrenton’s Parks and Green SpacesA guide to Trenton’s green spaces: the Olmsted-planned Cadwalader Park and its history, the Delaware and Raritan Canal feeder that crosses it, the city’s renovated neighborhood parks, public pools and seasonal programs from canoeing to a youth fishing derby.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 09Healthy Home & YardLead in Trenton’s Drinking WaterWhere lead in Trenton tap water comes from, how to check your own service line with a key and a magnet, how Trenton Water Works’ free and mandatory replacement program works and the everyday steps that lower exposure until your line is replaced.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 10Healthy Home & YardLead Paint and Children in New JerseyHow children are exposed to lead in older Trenton homes, when New Jersey children should be tested, what the City’s lead program does after an elevated result, and how the state’s lead-safe certification rule for pre-1978 rentals works.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 11Healthy Home & YardRadon Testing in Mercer County HomesWhy any Trenton-area home can have a radon problem, how to run a short-term or long-term test correctly, EPA’s three-step decision process around the 4 pCi/L action level, and where to find test kits and qualified professionals.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min readNo. 12Healthy Home & YardComposting at Home in New JerseyHow to turn leaves, grass and vegetable scraps into compost in a Trenton-area yard, using Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s slow and fast methods, the right mix of greens and browns, what to leave out and how to use the finished compost.Trenton, N.J. · 4 min read

Sorted questions

Questions, Numbered Like Plastics

Eight answers Trenton residents look for most, each from the agency that runs the program.

Which day is recycling in Trenton?

On the 2026 Mercer County calendar, Trenton shares its recycling day with Robbinsville: every other Wednesday, from January 14 through December 30. Have the official bucket at the curb by 7 a.m. The full list is in Trenton Recycling Guide: What Goes in the Bucket, When It Is Picked Up and What Stays Out.

Who do I call about a missed recycling pickup?

Recycling is run by the Mercer County Improvement Authority, not the City. Report a missed collection at mcianj.org/311 or call 609-278-8086, after checking that nothing in the bucket is on the not-accepted list.

Can plastic bags or pizza boxes go in the bucket?

No. The county’s recycling sheet lists both as contamination, along with motor oil, light bulbs, pottery, window glass, Styrofoam, dishes and baking pans. Put recyclables in the bucket loose.

Where do old paint thinner, pesticides and propane tanks go?

To one of Mercer County’s household hazardous waste days at the Dempster Fire Training School in Lawrence Township. In 2026 they were March 21, June 13 and September 26, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oil-based paint is accepted; latex paint is not. See Household Hazardous Waste in Mercer County: 2026 Drop-Off Days and What They Take.

Will the City pick up an old TV?

No. Under New Jersey’s Electronic Waste Management Act, televisions and computers cannot go out with the trash, and the City refers residents to the MCIA at 609-278-8086. The county collects electronics on its hazardous waste days; see Electronics Recycling in New Jersey: Why TVs and Computers Can’t Go in the Trash.

Does my house have a lead service line?

Find the pipe that enters through the wall at your water meter and scratch it gently with a key. Lead is dull gray but turns bright silver, and a magnet will not stick to it. Trenton Water Works replaces lead lines at no cost to the owner; see Lead in Trenton’s Drinking Water: Service Lines, the Free Replacement Program and Safer Tap Habits.

Should I test my home for radon?

Yes. EPA says any home can have a radon problem and that its radon zone map should not be used to decide whether to test. It recommends fixing at 4 pCi/L or more and considering a fix between 2 and 4. How to test is in Radon Testing in Mercer County Homes: How to Test, What the Numbers Mean and When to Fix.

How can I help clean up the river?

Start with something already planned: the City’s Trenton Green Team meets about monthly and welcomes new members, and the MCIA runs adopt-a-highway and adopt-a-beach programs under Clean Communities. Safety rules for a cleanup are in River Cleanups and Green Volunteering in Trenton: Where to Start and How to Do It Safely.

Bucket check

Where Does It Go in Trenton?

Pick an item or type its name. You get the route the county and the City give for it, plus your next recycling Wednesday.

In the bucketKeep it outCounty hazardous waste dayNever trash, never bucketElectronics routeCity bulk pickup, by appointmentNot a City pickupCompost itCity garbageShredding day or bucketAsk first

County collection events still ahead

    Based on the Mercer County Improvement Authority’s 2026 recycling calendar, Lawrence Township’s list for the county hazardous waste days and City of Trenton notices. Dates and accepted items can change; confirm before you go. Apartment and condo residents should ask their management office.

    Seed packets

    Five Habits Worth Planting

    What the twelve sheets add up to, in five small packets. Each one ends with the single thing to do first.

    Packet 1

    Learn who collects what

    Trenton’s waste runs through two agencies. The City’s Division of Solid Waste Management collects garbage and bulk items, while curbside recycling belongs to the Mercer County Improvement Authority, which runs one program for Trenton and ten other towns. Electronics and household chemicals belong to neither curb: they wait for county collection days. Knowing which office runs which service is most of the battle, and it saves calls that end in a transfer. Apartment, condominium and townhouse residents are a third case: the county asks them to check with their management office, because those buildings usually have their own arrangements. The Trenton Recycling Guide: What Goes in the Bucket, When It Is Picked Up and What Stays Out sets out both schedules side by side.

    Sow thisSave 609-278-8086 (MCIA) and 609-989-3175 (City solid waste) in your phone.

    Packet 2

    Keep the bucket clean

    A bucket full of the right things is collected; a bucket with a plastic bag of bottles or a greasy pizza box may be left behind. The county accepts paper, books without hard covers, flattened cardboard, plastic bottles and containers marked 1, 2 or 5, metal cans, beverage cartons and glass bottles, loose, in the official container. Lithium-ion batteries never go in the trash or the bucket, because the county calls them a major fire hazard.

    Sow thisTape the accepted list inside a kitchen cupboard.

    Packet 3

    Send nothing down the drain

    Every street drain in Trenton leads to the Delaware River, the Delaware and Raritan Canal or a local creek, and the City’s stormwater plan calls runoff from land the main source of pollution in its waterways. Leftover chemicals have a proper outlet at the county’s hazardous waste days. Inside the house, only human waste and toilet paper belong in the toilet; wipes and kitchen grease clog the sewer lines.

    Sow thisKeep a labeled box in the garage for chemicals waiting for collection day.

    Packet 4

    Get to know the river

    The falls at Trenton are where the Delaware stops being a free-flowing river and starts rising and falling with the ocean tide, about ten feet here. The Delaware drains 6,780 square miles above the Trenton gauge, so heavy rain in the Catskills or the Poconos can raise it here days later. The river is also the city’s drinking water source. Assunpink Creek, much smaller, rises in hours during a heavy storm, and nearly 20 percent of the city lies in the 100-year or 500-year floodplain. Cadwalader Park and the canal path are the easiest places to meet the water.

    Sow thisRead the flood checklist before storm season, not during it.

    Packet 5

    Check the house you live in

    Older Trenton homes can hide three things you cannot see: a lead service line, lead paint under newer coats and radon gas from the soil. Trenton Water Works replaces lead service lines at no cost to owners, the City recommends lead tests for every child at 12 and 24 months, and EPA says every home should be tested for radon. A compost pile is the easy, pleasant end of the list: Rutgers’ slow method needs little more than leaves, time and a corner of the yard.

    Sow thisDo the key-and-magnet test on the pipe at your water meter this week.