Camden-based metal recycling company emerges as top environmental spender

New Jersey special interests spent a record $110.6 million lobbying state government officials in 2025, an annual state report shows.

One of the most striking spenders wasn’t a major corporation or statewide trade group. It was a Camden scrapyard at the center of an ongoing pollution fight.

Eastern Metal Recycling, which operates facilities in Camden and Bayonne, spent $115,500 lobbying state officials last year, making it the top spender in the environmental protection sector statewide, according to annual lobbying reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

The spending came as the state expanded its lawsuit against the company, citing new fires at the Camden facility and a barge fire on the Delaware Bay, along with long-standing complaints from nearby residents about air pollution and safety risks.

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A record year for lobbying in New Jersey

Overall lobbying spending rose 5.4 percent in 2025, reaching a new driven in part by the enactment of a $58.8 billion state budget, a contentious fight over the realty transfer tax, and a wave of health care legislation.

It marks the third consecutive year that lobbying spending exceeded $100 million.

The number of organizations hiring lobbyists also reached a new high, with 2,771 entities represented, a 9.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Salaries for in-house and contract lobbyists accounted for the bulk of spending at nearly $99.7 million. But the fastest-growing category was communications. Spending on advertising, mailers, and public outreach campaigns jumped 49 percent to $4.9 million.

A relatively small group of top spenders accounted for more than two-thirds of that communications total, underscoring how lobbying battles are increasingly fought through public campaigns, not just behind closed doors in the Statehouse.

The New Jersey Education Association, long one of the state’s most powerful lobbying forces, spent about $295,000 in 2025, far below the levels that once put it at the top of the rankings.

Realtors take the top spot

The biggest overall special interest spender in 2025 was the New Jersey Realtors Association, which topped the annual list for the first time since the state began tracking lobbying data in 1996.

The group spent about $1.4 million, including nearly $978,000 through its Issues Mobilization Fund. The fund was backed in part by a $500,000 grant from the National Association of Realtors to oppose a proposed increase in the state’s realty transfer tax. The group argued the increase would hurt housing affordability and add thousands of dollars to closing costs for homebuyers

The Engineers Labor Employer Cooperative 825, which held the top spot the previous two years, fell to second at $1.15 million, followed by Public Service Enterprise Group at $853,508.

Among lobbying firms representing multiple clients, Princeton Public Affairs Group led in 2025 with $4,782,180.20 in money received by clients, followed by Public Strategies Impact LLC at $2,691,416.00 and River Crossing Strategy Group at $2,532,000.

Health care dominates the agenda

Of the ten most heavily lobbied bills in 2025, seven dealt with health care.

The state budget drew the most lobbying contacts overall, followed by the Packaging and Paper Product Stewardship Act, which generated 237 reported contacts from lobbyists.

Bills addressing prescription drug coverage for serious mental illness, health care cost transparency, and patient protections also ranked among the most actively lobbied measures.

Taken together, health care interests, including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and related organizations, accounted for the largest share of lobbying spending by sector.

A charter school network’s rapid rise

One of the sharpest increases in spending came from College Achieve Public Schools, a charter school network that boosted its lobbying expenditures by 302 percent, from $123,000 in 2024 to $495,000 in 2025. The increase vaulted the group from 132nd to ninth among lobbying spenders in the state.

In January of 2026, the State Comptroller’s office issued a preliminary report about an investigation into College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School and its charter management organization. The private non-profit operates three New Jersey charter schools across eleven campuses. 

 The investigation followed public reports of potential financial mismanagement, illegal procurement practices, and a lack of transparency regarding the use of public funds at CAPS Asbury.

A New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller investigation found that College Achieve Public Schools in Asbury Park violated public contracting laws by approving payments to a company owned by the executive director’s brother-in-law without seeking competitive bids or proper authorization. In some cases, purchases were routed through another vendor but ultimately directed back to the same related-party business.

The report also found that school leadership and affiliated officials pressured staff to process payments despite knowing the transactions were improper. In an apparent effort to justify the purchases, employees were later directed to obtain additional quotes after the fact.

Investigators identified broader financial and governance problems, including mishandled cash from school uniform sales that was not properly deposited or tracked, and unauthorized facility rentals by the principal, with little or no recordkeeping of payments collected.

The comptroller further found that officials failed to alert the school’s board of trustees to red flags and violated anti-nepotism policies by hiring relatives without required approvals.

CAPS Asbury and its affiliated organization dispute some of the findings, saying any issues were limited in scope and have since been addressed.

Tech and gig economy step up activity

Several technology and gig economy companies also increased their lobbying presence as lawmakers and regulators debated policies affecting their business models.

Instacart spent $200,000 on communications alone, while Uber Technologies spent $109,048, both ranking among the top communications spenders statewide.

The activity coincided with ongoing debates in New Jersey over how gig workers should be classified and what benefits they should receive.

Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the ownership group behind the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, spent $229,014 lobbying state officials, making it the top spender in the entertainment sector.

Public agencies join the lobbying push

Government entities were also active participants.

Monmouth County spent $210,353 lobbying state officials, making it the top spender in the public agencies sector.

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Krystal Knapp

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Krystal Knapp is the founder of The Jersey Vindicator and the hyperlocal news website Planet Princeton. Previously she was a reporter at The Trenton Times for a decade.