CAPE MAY CITY – The City Council has adopted a recycling ordinance that has been debated for months in the governing body’s meetings.

The new ordinance brings the city code in line with Department of Public Works practice in that it removes the statement from the code that all commercial recycling is the sole responsibility of the business owner. The city, despite that prohibition, has been picking up commercial recycling at a number of establishments for a long time.

Discussion of an ordinance defining and limiting the city’s level of responsibility for residential and commercial recycling began in the council in September 2024 and has been a regular topic of public comment and council discussion since.

The Taxpayers Association of Cape May came out strongly against any level of commercial pickup, arguing that curbside pickup of recycling should be a business expense, not a taxpayer expense. The organization subsequently modified its position due to the city’s apparent intent to continue commercial pickup.

The association then argued for making the recycling limits for a commercial establishment no greater than those on a single-family home.

The ordinance adopted on April 15 was not what the association called for; however, the city did promise a review in November of how things go this summer. The results of the review could lead, Mayor Zach Mullock said, to revisions of the policy.

What passed was an ordinance that puts a limit of 192 gallons of recycling materials on single-family and dual-family residences; individual containers cannot exceed 96 gallons. All containers must have lids, and cardboard not in a container must be tied, bundled or otherwise secured.

Multifamily units will have a limit of one 96-gallon container per unit, with an absolute limit of six containers. A two-yard dumpster can be substituted for the property’s limit of six containers.

Mixed-use or commercial properties will have limits depending on the nature and size of the property. But no city pickup will exceed six containers regardless of the property’s size. Smaller properties will have smaller limits.

All recycling in excess of the new limits becomes the responsibility of the property owner and must be dealt with through a private hauler.

Solicitor Christopher Gillin-Schwartz joked at a March 18 meeting that the city had worked hard to find a solution that pleased no one. He added more seriously that the ordinance was an attempt “to do what we can reasonably do.”

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.