If you are reading through this page after January, 2022, please disregard all references to weighing materials or survey submissions. This is no longer required.

Q: What is accepted?
A: All food, Beans, Bones, Bread, Coffee Grounds & Filters, Dairy, Eggshells & Eggs, Food-Soiled Napkins & Paper Towels, Fruits, Grains, Meat, Pasta, Poultry, Rice, Seafood, Tea Bags (no staples), Vegetables

Q: Will participants be provided special receptacles to gather the food waste?
A: The collection container that we will provide is a sturdy 5 gallon pail with a tight lid. Residents will likely use something smaller in their kitchen to collect food scraps and then dump the contents of that smaller container into the pail as often as they find convenient. We assume that most will keep the pail indoors.

Q: Will mice, rats etc. be attracted to this container if kept in garage?
A: We spoke with colleagues in a state that already has this program and purchased the container and lid that they recommended. Since the container is heavy duty and the lid is secure, they have received no such reports. However, we would definitely recommend that you take care of your container by keeping it clean and rinsed out regularly.

Q: We picked up our bucket and started putting food in it. What’s next?
A: 1) Continue the new routine that you have started of separating food trash from regular trash. Have you found it a challenge to retrain your habits? If so, you’re not alone, but please keep up the good work. 2) Prepare for next week’s survey submission. How? Record the weight of your household garbage before you toss that bag outside. It may be helpful to have a little pad next to your scale so that you can track the numbers. The food recycling bucket only gets weighed once; just before taking it to the center. 3) Complete the actual survey. When? To avoid double-reporting of information, please complete the survey once a week, on the same day that you empty your bucket at the recycling center.

Q: When can I dump my material at the Recycling Center?
A: You may go on any day that works best for your schedule.  We are open from 8am – 3pm (closed Wednesdays / closed Sundays) and the address follows: Recycling Center, 203 East Glen Avenue (behind fire headquarters).

Q:  I currently use my disposal to remove as much food waste as possible...Should I stop using sink disposal?
A: Many disposals are down-the-drain systems without any recovery, so we would prefer that you placed the items in your bucket instead. Fortunately, all the food waste that can go down the disposal (and more) is a great candidate for food recycling!

Q: Do you have to participate 9 consecutive months?
A: We realize that some participants may travel, even for several weeks at a time. That doesn't create any problem for us. In fact, you can indicate that on the weekly survey.

Q: What should I expect to see at home as I continue to participate?
A: 1) Awareness will increase: As you become aware of the amount of food that you put in your food recycling bucket, you will likely start to analyze  where it’s coming from and why it’s getting recycled. Some things (banana peels, bones, eggshells) may not be preventable waste, but that isn’t true for everything. We expect that participants will learn to recognize habits that contribute to unnecessary food decay and preventable food waste. 2) Food waste will decrease: As participants recognize habits that contribute to food waste, they should become motivated to make adjustments. Examples of  these adjustments may include: Learning how to properly store food so that it stays fresher longer, buying only what will be consumed, planning ahead for meals so as to utilize perishables that are on hand, recognizing the difference between ugly produce and recyclable produce.
3) Garbage will decrease: In New Jersey, food waste is estimated to make up approximately 22% of a household’s total garbage. By removing this from  your trash, your garbage should decrease.

Q: Can I include ... 

• . . . Paper bags? Tissues?
  A: You can definitely use a brown paper bag to line your 5 gallon pail, but any additional paper bags should be recycled along with paper and cardboard at the curbside, just as we have always done. We can take food-soiled napkins and paper towels, but, please, no tissues.
• . . . Biodegradable compost bags?
  A: No biodegradable compost bags, please.
• . . . Hard fruit pits, i.e. from avocados, peaches, etc.?
  A:  Yes, they are acceptable
• . . . Meat/poultry, cooked or raw?
  A: Cooked or raw, we can take it.
• . . . Excess fat from meat?
  A:  Solid fat and skin that you trim away as you prep your meat before cooking it, or that you remove while eating is accepted.  Renderings are not accepted.
• . . . Seafood shells from crabs, clams, lobsters?
  A: Absolutely, please put them in!
• . . . Used cooking oil and bacon grease?
  A: No cooking oils, liquids or renderings please.
• . . . Butter or grease?
  A: We can take food cooked in butter or grease. Similarly, a buttered roll that is not consumed can be recycled. Please just don’t pour renderings or cooking oil into the bucket.
• . . . A greasy pizza box?
  A: No pizza boxes, please.  If your pizza box is grease and oil free, as well as completely empty, it can be recycled with your cardboard. Similarly, if the bottom is greasy, one could rip the box apart at the hinge, throw the greasy bottom section in the garbage, and recycle the clean lid with cardboard recycling.
• . . . Pet food (canned,  fresh or dry)?
  A: We are not accepting pet food.

Q: Where is the weekly survey link and how often should it be completed?
A: Click Here for the Weekly Survey.  This should be completed at least once each week on the same day that you deliver your food to the recycling center.

Q: Why does the survey ask for the weight of my trash and not just the weight of my food?
A: To evaluate the impact of our program and whether or not we should expand it, we need the ability to calculate the impact that food recycling has on overall household trash.  To do so, we ask the two questions (one for food weight and the second for trash weight).  We greatly appreciate everyone who told us that they are willing to weigh their trash and food. Please use your luggage or bathroom scale, to the best of your ability, to obtain your weights.

Q: How much does the empty bucket weigh?
A: With the lid attached, it weighs 3.3 pounds.  Please remember to subtract the weight of the bucket from your food recycling total weight.

Q: My household stated on our application that we would only be willing to estimate our material.  What numbers should we use?
A: We also accepted a small number of households who will be estimating their material. For now, please use these formulas.
Estimate trash @ 1.3 pounds (lbs) per person per day.  Therefore, Trash = 1.3 pounds x (# of People in Household) x (# of Days in Reporting Period) - OR - With a calculator, multiply 1.3 times the # of people in your home times the number of days that you are calculating.
Estimate food @ 0.4 pounds (lbs) per person per day. Therefore, Food = 0.4 pounds x (# of People in Household) x (# of Days in Reporting Period) - OR - With a calculator, multiply 0.4 times the # of people in your home times the number of days that you are calculating.

Q: How did you come up with the formula used by people who are estimating their trash and their food?
A: We started with the total weight of household trash that Ridgewood collected in calendar year 2020.  Using census data, we broke it down to a weight per capita per day and used the NJDEP calculation that "22% of the municipal solid waste stream in New Jersey is food waste". (https://www.nj.gov/dep/dshw/foodwasteplan.pdf)

If you have general questions related to the program, please click  here for our Frequently Asked Questions - General page.

Q: What is the Food Recycling Pilot Program (FRP)?
A:  The FRP was a 9-month study, from March - December, 2021.  Participating households (approximately 100) agreed to recycle all of their food scraps, deliver them to the recycling center, and provide the department with data.  In turn, that data helped the municipality to gain valuable insight into the challenges that households encounter, the quantity of material generated and how the quantity changes over time, as well as how to scale the program in the future. As of January, 2022, participants were no longer required to submit weekly data; however, we encourage all participants to maintain open communication with the department and to freely share their observations, concerns, and suggestions.

Q:  Why is Ridgewood doing this?
A: 1) Food is one of the largest parts of our solid waste stream. We pay to send food trash to the landfill, and costs are increasing. 2) Food impacts landfill space and emissions. It forms methane as it breaks down, a potent greenhouse gas. 3) “Worldwide 24 billion tons of fertile soil disappears each year” (UNCCD, 2011). Through this program, food waste will be broken down and returned to the soil, as a vital soil amendment. 4) Although some Ridgewood residents compost their organic waste at home, most do not. This program offers an expanded option for food waste disposal, providing a means to include residents who are unable to do backyard composting, or who will continue backyard composting, but would also like to recycle items that are not compatible with backyard composting programs like meat and bones.

Q: Who is paying for the program?
A: Ridgewood Recycling and we have worked very hard to contain costs. The collection containers (both those used in the home and at the recycling center) were obtained through a Bergen County grant. The price we pay to dispose of food collected each week is low, and our participants are committed to following the rules of the program and helping us to avoid contamination charges.

Q: What is accepted?
A: All food, Beans, Bones, Bread, Coffee Grounds & Filters, Dairy, Eggshells & Eggs, Food-Soiled Napkins & Paper Towels, Fruits, Grains, Meat, Pasta, Poultry, Rice, Seafood, Tea Bags (no staples), Vegetables

Q: What happens to the food that is collected?
A: Food is delivered to Trenton Renewables where it is turned into compost and organic fertilizer for local farms as well as renewable biogas to power the state-of-the art facility.

Q: Who transports the food to Trenton Renewables, and how often?
A: Ridgewood’s hauler is Natural Upcycling, a company that services the Trader Joe’s and Wegmans in our area. Because their vehicles are already passing Ridgewood and are already trucking material to Trenton Renewables, they provided competitive pricing and weekly service.

If you are a program participant and you have additional questions, please click  here for our Frequently Asked Questions - Participants page.

PLANNING BOARD PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

7:30 P.M.

THIS WILL BE A VIRTUAL ONLINE PUBLIC MEETING

For the duration of the Coronavirus Health Emergency, Village Hall is closed to the public and meetings are held with participants at remote locations, connecting to conferencing software provided by zoom.us.  Members of the public are invited to view meetings live using the Zoom client, which also allows them to “raise a hand” and contribute with voice and video when they are invited to do so during public portions of the meeting.

Please click the link below to join the virtual meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82014087160

Or Telephone:
    Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
        US: +1 646 558 8656 
    Webinar ID: 820 1408 7160

In the alternative, if you cannot join the live meeting remotely for any reason, you may contact Jane Wondergem, the Planning Board Secretary at (201)670-5500 x240 or via email at jwondergem@ridgewoodnj.net

7:30 p.m. – Call to Order, Statement of Compliance, Flag Salute, Roll Call - In accordance with the provisions of Section 10:4-8d of the Open Public Meetings Act, the date, location, and time of the commencement of this meeting is reflected in a meeting notice, a copy of which schedule has been filed with the Village Manager and the Village Clerk, The Ridgewood News and The Record newspapers, and posted on the bulletin board in the entry lobby of the Village municipal offices at 131 North Maple Avenue, and on the Village website, all in accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act.

                  Roll call: Knudsen, Van Goor, Reynolds, Joel, O’Brien, Patire, Hooban, Barto, Wesner, Johnson, Lyubarskiy

1. 7:30 p.m. – 7:35 p.m. – Public Comments on Topics not Pending Before the Board

2. 7:35 p.m. – 7:40 p.m. – Committee/Commission/Professional Updates for Non Agenda Topics, Correspondence Received by the Board

3. 7:40 p.m. – 7:50 p.m. – Historic Preservation Commission:

                a. Sneaker Stop, 136 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Block 3704, Lot 1 – proposed sign

4. 7:50 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – 54 East Ridgewood Landmark, LLC, 54 East Ridgewood Avenue, Block 3809, Lot 7.01 – Application for Minor Site Plan Approval and Variance relief as needed permit a rooftop bar and rooftop food bar.

5. 9:00 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. -Hopper Ridge Condominium Association, Inc., Block 4104, Lot 3 –- Adoption of Memorializing Resolution of Approval for Major Preliminary and Final Site Plan, Soil Movement and variance approval.

6. 9:15 p.m. – 9:20 p.m. - Garber Building, LLC, 2-4 Garber Square, Block 3801, Lot 3 – Adoption of Memorializing Resolution of Approval for Minor Site Plan approval.

7.  9:20 p.m. – 9:25 p.m. – Adoption of Minutes: March 2, 2021

8. 9:25 p.m. – Executive Session (if necessary)

9. Adjournment

In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, all meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work sessions, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings, which are always open to members of the

general public.

Members: Susan Knudsen, James Van Goor, Lorraine Reynolds, Richard Joel, Dianne O’Brien, Melanie Hooban, Debbie Patire, Frances Barto, Alysson Wesner, Darlene Johnson, Igor Lyubarskiy

Professional Staff: Christopher Martin, Esq., Board Attorney; Christopher J. Rutishauser, Village Engineer; Maryann Bucci-Carter, Village Planner; Jane Wondergem, Board Secretary

For the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic, Village Hall is closed to the public and meetings are being held with participants at remote locations, connecting to conferencing software provided by zoom.us. 

Members of the public are invited to view meetings live using Zoom, which also allows them to “raise a hand” and contribute with voice and video when they are invited to do so during Public Comments as well as during Public Hearings during the meeting.

Please click the link below to join the virtual meeting:                                               
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86111081042

Or Telephone, Dial:  1-646-558-8656                                                                             

Webinar ID: 861 1108 1042

THE RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE COUNCIL

PUBLIC WORKSHOP AGENDA

March 3, 2021

7:30 P.M.

1.         7:30 pm – Call to Order – Mayor

2.         Statement of Compliance with Open Public Meeting Act

            Mayor: “Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by a posting on the bulletin    board in Village Hall, by mail to the Ridgewood News, The Record, and by submission      to all persons entitled to same as provided by law of a schedule including the date and          time of this meeting.”

“Due to the fact that we continue to meet through a remote meeting format, there are some required announcements to make.

• All participants are muted during this meeting.

• Anyone wishing to make comments, may do so during Comments from the Public, and during the public hearings on any ordinances by dialing *9 on your phones to raise your hand, and then once you are recognized, dialing *6 on your phones to unmute, or by raising your hand icon if you are on your computers. You must state your name and address for the record.

• Members of the public may also submit written comments to us for any future remote meetings by either email to Donna Jackson, Deputy Village Clerk, at djackson@ridgewoodnj.net, with the subject line, “Comments for Village Council Meeting” or written letter to Donna Jackson, Deputy Village Clerk.  Written comments must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the day before the remote meeting in order to be read into the record during the meeting. All written comments must adhere to the time limits already set by ordinance.

• Members of the public commenting during a remote meeting shall not act in any manner to disrupt the meeting. If anyone becomes disruptive during the meeting, they will be muted. If time permits, the disruptive individual shall be allowed to speak after all other members of the public are provided an opportunity to comment.

• Any continued disruption may result in the member being prevented from speaking during the remainder of this meeting. Disruptive conduct includes, but is not limited to, shouting, interruption, and the use of profanity.” 

3.         Roll Call – Village Clerk                                                                                                       

4.         Flag Salute/Moment of Silence

5.         Public Comments (Not to Exceed 3 Minutes per Person - 40 Minutes in Total)

6.         Manager’s Report

7.         Council Reports                     

8.         Discussion

            a.         Ridgewood Water

1.         Ordinance – Propose PFAS Treatment Charge and Revise Water Rate

2.         Award Contract – Water Station Improvements - Eastside and Farview Pumping Stations

3.         Award Contract – Various Site Improvements – Water Storage and Pumping Facilities

            b.         Parking - None

            c.         Budget

1.         Award Contract – Animal Control Services & Water Fowl Management

2.         Award Contract Under State Contract – Spatial Data Logic Software

3.         Award Contract Under State Contract – Dell Computer Replacement - Software and Hardware

4.         Emergency Purchase – Rock Salt for Snow and Ice Control

5.         Partial Initial Award – SCADA System – Water Pollution Control Facility

6.         Award Cooperative Pricing Contract – 2021 Chevy Tahoe – Emergency Services

7.         Award Contract – 2021 Resurfacing and Repairs of Various Streets – 2020/2021 NJDOT Municipal Aid Grant Program

8.         Award Professional Services Contract – Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund Grant

d.         Policy - None

e.         Operations                              

1.         Proposed One Way Traffic – Glenwood Road

2.         Re-appointment of Registrar of Vital Statistics

3.         Amend Towing Fee Ordinances

4.         Empty Store Front Display Ordinance

5 .        Schedler Property

9.         Review of March 10, 2021 Public Meeting Agenda

10.       Public Comments (Not to Exceed 5 Minutes per Person)

11.       Closed

                        A.        Personnel – Appointments to Boards and Committees

12.       Adjournmen