Ocean County sees its year-round population double in the summer hosting thousands of visitors here to enjoy boating, beaches, backyard barbecues and a host of recreational activities found throughout the County.

While Ocean County officials want visitors to enjoy their time here they also ask visitors to be mindful of the importance of recycling while on vacation.

“Whether you are here for the day, the week or the entire summer, recycling while you are in Ocean County is just as important as it is in your own hometown,” said Freeholder James F. Lacey, who serves as liaison to Ocean County’s award winning recycling programs. “The County and its municipalities all offer a host of convenient recycling programs that can be accessed by summer visitors.”

During the summer of 2014, more than 23,000 tons of materials were recycled in Ocean County which resulted in towns saving more than $1.6 million because the items did not go to the landfill.

“Recycling comes with many benefits,” said Freeholder Director John C. Bartlett Jr. “It saves landfill space, it protects the environment and it helps out economically.”

When it comes to summer recycling, Lacey suggests visitors check with their municipalities to find out recycling rules. He noted that Ocean County towns have implemented single-stream recycling which means all recyclables including cans, bottles, newspapers and junk mail can be placed at the curb in one container.

“It’s important to check on how the town where you are staying collects recyclables and on what days,” Lacey said.

He emphasized that recyclables should not be placed in plastic bags.

“Plastic bags can cause problems when materials are being processed at our recycling centers,” Lacey said. “It’s important to put recyclables in receptacles or drop them off right at a recycling center.”

Lacey noted that many municipalities have recycling centers where materials can be dropped off.

Visitors and residents using beaches and marinas also should look for the big green igloos placed in visible locations throughout Ocean County.

“When you are leaving an area we encourage you to deposit your recyclables in the igloo. It is much more convenient than taking them home with you or back to where you may be staying,” Lacey said. “The goal of our recycling program in Ocean County is to make it easy and convenient so people want to recycle.”

Also, recycling drop-off venues are easily accessible at the county’s regional recycling centers. Residents and visitors can drop-off recyclables at the Northern Ocean County Recycling Center off of New Hampshire Avenue in Lakewood and also at the Southern Ocean County Recycling Center off of Haywood Road in Stafford Township.

“These sites are open 24-hours a day, seven days a week,” Lacey said. “We are also running our household hazardous waste collection program during the summer months to assist homeowners who own vacation homes in the County and need to dispose of items that cannot be tossed out in the regular trash.”

Lacey added that visitors can also recycle cooking oil and cooking grease by depositing it in tanks installed at the county’s recycling centers.

“Our recycling programs address many of the tasks we do every day,” Lacey said. “We have built the program so that it is convenient for everyone. We encourage our visitors to take good care of our environment and recycle.”

Since the county began operating its materials processing facility in Lakewood in 1991, more than 1,400,000 tons of materials have been processed resulting in a total savings of $99,694,000 by avoiding the tipping fee at the landfill.

Lacey noted that the revenue generated from the sale of the material also is distributed back to the municipalities.

“We created the recycling revenue sharing program to be another benefit to our municipalities,” Lacey said. “In 2014 municipalities received $708,394 from the revenue sharing program.”

“Recycling helps us to reuse materials and saves landfill space,” Lacey said. “This is such an important program. We urge everyone to recycle.”

For more information on recycling in Ocean County visit www.co.ocean.nj.us and click on Solid Waste Management under departments or call 1-800-55-RECYCLE.

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