Maplewood Is Green

09/22/2026

🌳 🌳
Nearly 20% of Maplewood’s land cover is forested land (458 acres). There are about 1,000 red maple street trees.

ALSO:
• Our highest point is 578 feet above sea level; our lowest is 89 feet.
• Wildlife includes Great Blue Herons, Glossy Ibises, NJ Chorus Frogs and Eastern Red Bats.
• Maplewood gets about 47 inches of precipitation each year.
• We have 7 acres of open water streams and Maplewood is in the Rahway River and Elizabeth River watersheds.

🌎 Want to learn more about Maplewood’s natural resources?

Join a virtual community meeting Wednesday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. to learn about Maplewood’s new Environmental Resource Inventory (ERI) — a comprehensive look at the township’s environmental resources that will help support sustainability efforts and future planning.

🔗 Join the meeting: https://twp-maplewood-nj-us.zoom.us/j/81340403099

📄 View the draft ERI: https://tlcnj.egnyte.com/dl/Hd9rDwjWtP7r

Maplewood Township, NJ

09/21/2026

⚡⚡Join us for the Lightning Brook Cleanup Day on Saturday, October 3, 2026 from 10 am - 12 noon. Rain or Shine.

Meet: Rotary Park, 72 Jacoby Street across from the Seth Boyden School playground in Maplewood.

09/15/2026

SWAP BEFORE YOU DROP!💚

Maplewood’s Bulk Drop-Off Day is THIS Saturday, Sept. 19, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Learn more:https://sl1nk.com/9jh15f3

New this year: Mixed Rigid Plastics! Keep items like buckets, crates, laundry baskets, garbage cans, playsets and ride-on toys out of the landfill by bringing them to Bulk Drop-Off.

And if something is still useful, swap it and give it a second life — reuse is even better than recycling!

DROP OFF • SWAP • REUSE
Bring 2 forms of Maplewood residency ID, including 1 with a photo.
No car parts, paint, trees, branches or building/construction materials.
Maplewood Township, NJ

09/09/2026

Bulk Drop-Off day is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 8 am - 2 pm.

New in 2026, Mixed Rigid Plastics. See the examples of mixed rigid plastics in the graphic! Buckets, crates, laundry baskets, garbage cans, playsets & ride-on toys. And bulk drop-off is also an opportunity to SWAP.

DROP OFF - SWAP - REUSE

08/14/2026

See slides 2 & 3 for basic rules and details on what sorts of Mixed Rigid Plastics are accepted.

06/10/2026

VIRTUAL TOWN HALL ON AFFORDABLE ENERGY
Is clean energy a "green luxury" or a tool for economic justice? Join our own Assemblyman Chigozie Onyema and energy policy expert Alex Ambrose (NJ Policy Perspective) on June 17 at 7:30 pm for a deep-dive conversation on affordable energy.

In this free virtual Town Hall, they will discuss how transitioning to renewables can lower household costs and build community wealth.

🟢Sign up for the ZOOM link at tr.ee/SOMA_energy.

Is clean energy a "green luxury" or a tool for economic justice? Join SOMA Action for a deep-dive conversation with Assemblyman Chigozie Onyema and energy policy expert Alex Ambrose (NJ Policy Perspective) on how transitioning to renewables can lower household costs and build community wealth. We kn...

06/04/2026

🏡 Garage looking a bit full these days? This Saturday, June 6, our Dept. of Public Works is hosting the first of our two Bulk Item Drop Off recycling events this year (the second is scheduled for Sept. 12). Maplewood residents can dispose of bulk items at 359 Boyden Ave. between 8 am - 2 pm. Find rules & details at www.maplewoodnj.gov/government/public-works/bulk-drop-off-program.

🆕 New this year is the ability to drop Mixed Rigid Plastics (MRP’S) – e.g. laundry baskets, plastic crates, outdoor play sets, ride on toys, patio furniture – a valuable stream for recycling plants which clean and reprocess the items into pellets to make new plastic goods.

💡 Don’t forget, Bulk Drop Off doubles as an informal local swap day – someone else’s drop off item might just be the thing you need for your home!

05/24/2026

🎬🍯 Movie Night is coming to Founders Park! 🌼🐝

Join us for a special screening of The Pollinators, a fascinating documentary exploring the vital role of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators in our food system and everyday lives.

📅 May 28
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Founders Park Community Center
311 Valley St, South Orange
🏠 Indoors

Presented in partnership with Founders Park and the South Orange Public Library.

Bring your curiosity and join us for an evening of film, learning, and community! Be sure to RSVP using the QR code on the flyer.

05/21/2026

TOWNSHIP 101: Beginning in January of 2023, Maplewood Township adopted a recycling structure that requires residents to separate their recycling materials into two distinct categories (Fibers & Commingled) for rotating pickup on alternating weeks. (If you're curious how that came into existence, here's a great Village Green article outlining the origin of the move to dual stream format: https://villagegreennj.com/.../plan-ahead-sort-it-out.../)
One week’s pickup is exclusively for Fibers (cardboard & paper) and the following week’s pickup is exclusively for Commingled (glass, metal & plastic containers). For a deeper dive into what those groupings currently include; a Printable 2026 Recycling Flyer & clever ways to stay in the recycling loop, head to www.maplewoodnj.gov/recycling.

TOWNSHIP 101: Beginning in January of 2023, Maplewood Township adopted a recycling structure that requires residents to separate their recycling materials into two distinct categories (Fibers & Commingled) for rotating pickup on alternating weeks. (If you're curious how that came into existence, here's a great Village Green article outlining the origin of the move to dual stream format: https://villagegreennj.com/towns/plan-ahead-sort-it-out-maplewood-south-orange-recycling-changes-begin-january-2/)

One week’s pickup is exclusively for Fibers (cardboard & paper) and the following week’s pickup is exclusively for Commingled (glass, metal & plastic containers). For a deeper dive into what those groupings currently include; a Printable 2026 Recycling Flyer & clever ways to stay in the recycling loop, head to www.maplewoodnj.gov/recycling.

04/25/2026

Shoutout to Girl Scout Troop 20543, Columbia HS Environmental Club, Mayor Victor De Luca, Deputy Mayor Malia Herman, and the Maplewood Environmental Advisory Committee!