OCEAN COUNTY – Boating is one of the most popular pastimes enjoyed by visitors and residents of the county and thankfully, a new recycling guide for boat owners is now available.
Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said, “protecting our waterways including Barnegat Bay which is an environmental jewel and our ocean continues to be of great importance even while enjoying leisure activities like boating here in Ocean County.”
Vicari is the liaison to the Ocean County pumpout boat program. He said, “this new guide provides important information to boaters so they can assist in protecting our environment.”
Ocean County Freeholder Gary Quinn, liaison to Ocean County’s recycling program, said the new guide was developed by the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste Management along with the Planning Department as part of the ongoing educational outreach to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and its subsequent benefits to the environment.
Quinn added, “we are creating educational materials that target the unique characteristics of the County. This brochure provides information that will help the boating community to dispose of the waste created in a more environmentally conscious way in order to protect the Barnegat Bay and reduce landfill space.”
The guide includes information on where to conveniently drop off antifreeze, boat batteries, paint cans, boat paint, oil and filters and shrink wrap.
Quinn said, “these materials can be dropped off at the county’s regional recycling centers located in Lakewood and Stafford townships. Also some municipalities offer these services at their recycling centers.”
The guide also lists other relative recycling programs for boaters.
The pumpout boats are specially equipped vessels capable of emptying the on-board toilets and tanks of other boats, keeping waste from entering the bay. The boats are available to provide the pumpout service on weekends starting Memorial Day weekend running through October.
To request a pumpout, the boats can be contacted on VHF radio channel 9, or by contacting the captains by cell phone. The contact numbers for the captains can be found on the program’s website at planning.co.ocean.nj.us/frmEPPumpoutBoats.
Boaters are also encouraged to like the pumpout program’s Facebook page at facebook.com/pumpoutoceancounty for up to date announcements and contact information.
This summer season, the pumpout boats have extended hours of operation with the service now being available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays through Mondays for pumpout boats servicing the northern and central parts of the County and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays through Sundays in the southern part of the County.
Vicari said, “since the program began in 1997, more than 90,000 recreational boats have been serviced and about 1.9 million gallons of effluent have been removed from vessels that could otherwise have ended up in the Barnegat Bay.”
“This is a major step towards ensuring that our coastal waters, such as the Barnegat Bay and the Little Egg Harbor, remain clean,” Vicari added.
There are now six full-time pumpout boats operating in the Barnegat Bay and the Little Egg Harbor, in addition to the Circle of Life which was the first pumpout boat in New Jersey and continues to be operated as a part-time back-up boat during the peak season.
The guide is available by emailing ocrecycles@co.ocean.nj.us, calling 732-506-5047 or visiting the Ocean County Department of Solid Waste Management at co.ocean.nj.us
