There’s a pattern in this state that’s been building for years, and if you live here, you’ve felt it. One town bans something. Then another. Then Trenton takes notice and a bill gets introduced. Before long, what started as a local ordinance in Maplewood is a statewide conversation.
So here’s the complete rundown. Everything New Jersey has banned, restricted, or is actively moving to ban right now. Call it a reference guide. Call it a warning.
Gas-powered leaf blowers: the ban that started a movement
Maplewood and Montclair went first, enacting year-round bans on gas-powered leaf blowers for commercial landscapers. Princeton followed with restrictions covering most of the calendar year. West Orange put seasonal limits on the books. And there have been loud discussions in Madison, and the landscapers are fighting back!
Now bill S623 is moving through Trenton again, a statewide phase-out that would first ban the sale of two-stroke blowers and eventually prohibit their use entirely in residential areas. It died in 2024 as S217. It came back in January 2026 with a new number and the same intent. This one isn’t going away.
Plastic bags, straws, and single-use everything
New Jersey’s plastic bag ban has been state law since 2022, one of the strictest in the country. Single-use plastic bags are prohibited at checkout. So are paper bags at grocery stores. Polystyrene foam containers are banned too. Towns like Avalon, Belmar, Jersey City, and Longport had already moved on their own years before Trenton caught up, banning plastic bags and styrofoam as far back as 2018 and 2019.
If you still have a stash of plastic straws at home, use them while you can.
ALSO READ: NJ Democrats just resurrected gas leaf blower ban bill
Associated Press
Associated Press
Boom cars and loud exhausts
The boom car law landed in 2023 and it has teeth. If your music can be heard from 50 feet away, you’re looking at a fine between $250 and $500 on the first offense, climbing to $750 to $1,000 and two points on your license by the third. The push came from South Jersey mayors in Camden, Pennsauken, and Delran who had watched their neighborhoods rattle through the night long enough.
Loud mufflers are next. A bill currently moving through Trenton would raise fines for modified exhaust systems up to $500, targeting both the driver and the shop that did the work. The existing fine has been $25 for decades. Nobody has been enforcing it. That is about to change.
E-bikes and motorized scooters
Union County banned e-bikes and motorized scooters from all county parks and county property in late 2025, citing public safety after a series of accidents. It is not the only county watching. As e-bikes have exploded in popularity across New Jersey, expect more municipalities to follow.
Fire pits: the rules most people don’t know
Your backyard fire pit is still legal, but the rules are tighter than most homeowners realize. The fire cannot exceed three feet in diameter and two feet in height. It must sit at least 25 feet from any structure or property line, or 15 feet if you’re using an approved non-combustible container. Burning leaves, grass, or trash is already prohibited statewide.
If a neighbor complains, a fire official can order you to extinguish the fire immediately. No appeal. During drought conditions, the state can restrict wood-burning fires entirely.
Canva/Townsquare Media illustration
Canva/Townsquare Media illustration
New Jersey bans to watch for in 2026
The leaf blower fight gave some Democratic lawmakers a taste of something bigger. Back in 2022, a bill called A3906 was introduced in Trenton that would have gone well beyond leaf blowers. It proposed banning the sale of all gas-powered lawn equipment within three years and prohibiting its use altogether within five. Lawn mowers, chainsaws, trimmers, snow blowers. All of it. The bill died in committee in 2024 without a vote.
But here is the thing about bills that die in Trenton. They come back. S217, the state wide leaf blower ban — died too. Now it’s S623 and it’s moving again. Anyone who has watched how the scan-and-ban mentality works in this statehouse would not be surprised to see a version of A3906 (the gas lawnmower ban) reappear before long. The leaf blower was the test case. The lawn mower may be next.
The Legislature’s attention right now is on the leaf blower fight, the loud muffler bill, and expanding plastic restrictions. If the last five years are any indication, the list you just read is not the final version. It’s a snapshot. Check back.
Average New Jersey property taxes in 2025
Check to see whether your municipality’s average tax bill last year went up or down. Data is from the state Department of Community Affairs. Municipalities are listed by county and alphabetically.
Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5
