New Jersey’s Dirty Little Secret: We’re Running Out Of Room For People And Trash

It’s no secret that New Jersey is full. PACKED to the gills. Not just full of people either, but full of garbage, too.

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According to NJ.com, our state is barreling toward a tipping point, where population growth and poor planning are colliding with mountains of literal trash. The results? They stink… literally.

Welcome to the Neighborhood… Hope You Like the Smell

Developments are popping up in places that just a few years ago would’ve been considered unlivable by most people's standards.

Case in point: Egg Harbor Township, where new homes are being built just a whiff away from the Atlantic County Utilities Authority landfill. Anyone who’s spent a windy day near it knows that it’s no candle.

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Absecon residents already know the deal, and that’s why there's a major lawsuit happening. Out west in Gloucester County, folks living near the Deptford pig farms and that ever-growing landfill off Delsea Drive are all too familiar with that pungent combo.

Why Are We Still Building Here?

Simply put, we’re almost out of space. That’s what happens when you cram 9.5 million people into the country’s most densely populated state with no master plan for waste. No state law requiring sellers to tell you your new dream home is landfill-adjacent.

Builders don’t have to warn buyers about what’s in the air…. or what might waft through their windows come August. It should be illegal to not disclose that information, but it’s not.

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Until New Jersey gets serious about smart growth and waste management, more of us will end up living closer to landfills full of trash and regretting it.

New homes shouldn’t come with hidden health risks and an invisible stink tax. Unfortunately, sources seem to confirm that’s the reality for the foreseeable future.