Dog Waste Removal in South Toms River, NJ

South Toms River is one of the smallest boroughs in Ocean County — only about four-tenths of a square mile — sitting on the south bank of the Toms River. It is bordered by Toms River Township, Beachwood, Berkeley Township, and Pine Beach, and despite sharing a name with its much larger neighbor, it is a separate municipality with its own borough hall. Route 166 (Main Street) runs through the heart of town, Dover Road carries traffic across the borough, and Atlantic City Boulevard (Route 9) runs nearby. Because the borough is so compact and fully built out, its blocks are established residential lots with small, fenced yards rather than sprawling new subdivisions.

That riverside location is exactly why dog waste cannot just sit in the yard. The Toms River drains into Barnegat Bay, and bacteria from pet waste — measured as fecal coliform — is a recognized non-point source of pollution across the watershed. On a small lot, there is very little ground between the back fence and the storm drain, so a single heavy rain can carry whatever is on the grass toward the river and, eventually, the bay. Bagging and hauling the waste offsite every week is the most direct way a borough household keeps it out of the water people fish, crab, and boat in just downstream.

Because South Toms River is a settled, year-round town rather than a seasonal shore community, the demand is steady all twelve months. We run the borough every week, winter included, so the small backyard stays clean whether it is the height of summer or the middle of January — and so the river it drains into stays a little cleaner too.