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The Department of Public Works



The Department of Public Works collects our trash, clears our streets, and maintains the townships roads, property, and equipment. Additionally it is responsible for maintaining the vehicles for all departments of the township. Visit the department's website for more information.

Public Works is organized into five divisions; Administration, Buildings and Grounds, Streets and Roads, Sanitation and Recycling, and Fleet Maintenance.

In 2011, the department's operating budget was approximately six million dollars. There is a staff of four administrative, three field supervisors, 17 Sanitation and Recycling workers, and 20 Streets and Roads employees. In emergencies the Sanitation and Streets departments work in unison. On other occasions their work is compartmentalized because of union contract constraints.

The office of the director of public works is located in town hall. The divisions of the department, however, are in facilities located throughout the township:

The Buildings and Grounds Division maintains the parks and recreation areas and is responsible for the operation, maintenance and management of Township properties and buildings. This division also installs, repairs and maintains municipal street traffic signs, lines and markers.

The Streets and Roads Division maintains the 116 miles (232 lane miles) of township streets. Maintenance activities include resurfacing, repair of potholes, street sweeping, snow plowing and brush and leaf pickup. Additionally they are responsible for the repair and cleaning of the storm drain system.

State and county roads are not the responsibility of the township.

The Sanitation and Recycling Division is responsible for the collection of household garbage, bulk trash and recyclables. The township has revamped its approach to garbage collection and now provides for weekly collection of garbage and recycled materials, on a zone schedule, in separate containers provided by the township. You can find the schedule for pick-up on your street here. Bulk items are collected once a month on a zone schedule.

In an effort to encourage recycling and comply with state mandates the Sanitation and Recycling Division maintains the mulch facility at Joe Palaia Park, which manages the leaves collected throughout the town. Clean mulch is available to town residents.

A recycling drop-off center at the foot of Sunset Avenue accepts recycled materials that are normally part of the recycling collection. Scrap metal, appliances and electronic items (e-waste) are also collected here. This site is the only available place to recycle grass clippings. Residents are encouraged to simply leave grass clippings on the lawn.

There are plans to include garden waste materials when the current facilities are expanded. However, the town urges backyard composting, and makes available modestly priced compost bins. Composting classes are also offered by the county. When opened, the expanded facility will simplify drop-off recycling and will be limited to township residents.

The current cost to the township of disposing trash is:

With the introduction of single source recycling in 2011 there has been a dramatic increase in the volume of recycling. The town collected over 3,500 tons of recycled materials in 2011, which represents over 30 percent of our total solid waste and an increase of 22 percent over 2010. Even with market driven prices for recycled materials and the cost associated with single source sorting by the vendor there is still a substantial savings associated with diverting recyclable material from the solid waste stream.

Shared Services

There is some sharing of services between the Township of Ocean Sewerage Authority and the Street and Road Division with respect to storm drain activities.

The Public Works Department participates in the Monmouth County Shared Services programs by using the Commodity Resale System and Cooperative Purchasing offerings.

There is also extensive inter-agency activity with the Monmouth County Mosquito Extermination Commission in support of the cleaning and dredging various waterways.