Located on the Woodbury Creek in the northwestern part of Gloucester County, Woodbury formed as a result of the first Quaker family to settle the area, in 1683.

 

Initially a lightly populated farming community, the village eventually became the seat of Gloucester County and over time emerged as an important center for transportation, manufacturing, and for the legal and medical professions.

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Woodbury was the first city in the United States to mandate recycling. 

 

This effort was led by then-councilman and later mayor Donald P. Sanderson in the 1970s, and an ordinance was finally passed in December 1980.

 

The idea of towing a "recycling" trailer behind a trash collection vehicle to enable the collection of trash and recyclable material at the same time emerged.

 

Sanderson was asked to speak in municipalities throughout the country and other towns and cities soon followed suit.