For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Jackie Greger, Jackie.Greger@sierraclub.org
Scrap Metal Bills Released from Assembly Environment Committee
TRENTON, NJ – Today, members of the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, including Assemblyman Kennedy, Assemblywoman Collazos-Gill, Assemblyman Bhalla, and Assemblyman Spearman, released two critical scrap metal bills, A2401(Moen) and A2406(Moen). Together, these measures will bring New Jersey’s loosely regulated scrap metal industry under the rigorous oversight of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The Legislation Released from Committee:
- A2406 (Moen): Formally requires the DEP to regulate scrap metal facilities as recycling facilities. This shift ensures that these sites are subject to mandatory inspections, proper permitting, and strict environmental compliance protocols to prevent heavy metals and chemicals from leaching into local groundwater.
- A2401 (Moen): Establishes comprehensive safety measures for scrap metal businesses. This bill addresses the physical risks associated with these sites, including fire safety, proper handling of hazardous materials, and operational transparency to prevent the illegal trade of stolen materials.
“For many years, environmental justice communities, black and brown communities, have lived in the shadow of a flume of toxins from scrap metal recycling facilities that have been saturating their communities. They have been living in fear of threats from catastrophic fires and explosions. It has been a struggle just to get state agencies, manufacturers, and legislators to recognize and acknowledge that there is a problem with how scrap metal recycling facilities operate. Current regulations don’t provide any consolation that any real protections will be a benefit to these communities. We now have an opportunity to improve regulations through legislation,” said Renée Pollard, Chair of the Environmental & Social Justice Committee for the NJ Sierra Club. “ This legislation will provide better protections, better guidance and overall better health outcomes for environmental justice communities in New Jersey.”
“For too long, communities across our state—particularly in overburdened environmental justice areas like Camden and Newark—have lived in the shadow of the constant threat of industrial fires. We all remember the devastating four-alarm fire at a Camden scrapyard in early 2025 that forced the evacuation of 100 residents and filled the air with toxic smoke for days. Just two weeks ago, we saw another fire break out at a similar facility in the same city. These incidents are not just "accidents"; they are the result of a regulatory gap that A2401 and A406 finally begin to close,” said Taylor McFarland, Conservation Program Manager of the NJ Sierra Club.
###
About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information about our work in New Jersey, visit www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey.