Working for the Garage Sale Weekend

The next round of garage sales will be upon us this weekend. 

Last Saturday and Sunday, homeowners in parts of Avenel and Colonia had balmy weather to draw nice-sized turnouts for their wares.

This weekend's sales will be free and won't require a township permit. But aside from cleaning out the basement and the garage and pocketing a few dollars, those in the garage sale area designated by Public Works for the permitless sale get an extra benefit - free pick up of the leftovers by the township last week.

The sales this weekend will take place in Recycling District 5, Zones 1 through 5 - otherwise known as parts of Menlo Park Terrace and Fords. The township website has a list of some of the sales that will be going on. Anyone can post a notice free of charge for their sale, and for upcoming sales, on the Woodbridge Township website.

Bulk pick by the township has been disappearing, section by section, since officials went to a mechanized form of trash collection that requires a special government-provided trash can. The township provides two cans free: a green one for regular trash and a blue one for co-mingled recyclables.

The wheeled trash cans are huge and easily equal the contents of several regular-sized garbage cans. But the downside has been the elimination of curbside pickup by Public Works. The only alternative has been to haul it yourself to the town dump in Keasbey, or to pay for a special $35 pick up by the town.