Composting
Landscaping Rules
Rules for backyard composting bins and piles plus curbside organics, bin requirements, allowed materials, setbacks, pest control, and any mandated diversion programs.
How Composting Rules Differ by Place
Casa Grande, AZ: Casa Grande Backyard Composting Allowance
Few RestrictionsCasa Grande Municipal Code § 8.08.110.A allows residents to maintain compost piles on their own private property for fertilization purposes, and lets fertilizer material from those…
Chandler, AZ: Chandler Exempts Backyard Composting From Bag Rule
Few RestrictionsChandler's refuse code normally requires solid waste to be bagged and containerized before collection, but § 44-2.3 carves out an exception: vegetative waste kept on the property for…
Alameda, CA: Alameda Backyard Composting Franchise Exemption
Few RestrictionsAlameda's mandatory organic-waste franchise does not reach material a resident composts on the same property where it is generated, whether through backyard composting or on-site…
Huntsville, AL: Huntsville Home Composting Nuisance Rule
Some RestrictionsHuntsville lets residents compost yard waste and food scraps at home without a permit, but Sec. 22-43 makes it unlawful to run a compost operation "in such a manner so as to create a…
Madison, AL: Backyard Composting Allowed If Not a Nuisance
Some RestrictionsMadison has no ordinance prohibiting backyard composting, and no permit is required. Compost simply cannot become a nuisance: property-maintenance rules require land to be free of…
Tuscaloosa, AL: Tuscaloosa Backyard Composting Location Rules
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa allows small-scale composting as an accessory use by right in every zoning district in the city. Sec. 25-107(f) requires the compost area to sit behind the principal…
Composting Rules by State
Statewide law governs this topic in many states. Each entry links to that state's full page.
California
Heavy RestrictionsSB 1383 requires every California resident and business to separate food scraps and yard waste from trash, with universal collection or on-site composting.
Connecticut
Some RestrictionsConnecticut requires large commercial food waste generators producing 26+ tons annually to separate organics for recycling at certified composting facilities under CGS § 22a-226e. The…
Maryland
Some RestrictionsMaryland law requires large food waste generators statewide to divert organics from landfills through reduction, donation, or composting when an organics recycling facility exists…
Ohio
Few RestrictionsOhio Revised Code 3734.02 and OAC 3745-560 exempt small-scale residential and agricultural composting from solid waste facility licensing, while regulating large composting operations…
Rhode Island
Some RestrictionsRhode Island's food-waste ban (R.I. Gen. Laws Section 23-18.9-17) requires large organic-waste generators located within 15 miles of a composting or digestion facility to divert food…
Washington
Some RestrictionsWashington requires jurisdictions over 25,000 to provide organics collection and bans certain organic waste disposal under RCW 70A.205.545.
West Virginia
Some RestrictionsWest Virginia Code §22-15 and 45CSR6 set statewide composting and open burning standards. Residential backyard composting is exempt from solid waste permits, but open burning is…
Cities & Counties with Composting Rules
422 locations
Arizona
Arkansas
Other Landscaping Rules Topics
Tree Trimming
Rules about trimming trees that overhang sidewalks, streets, or neighboring properties, and when you need permission to prune city trees.
Tree Removal & Heritage Trees
Permit requirements for removing trees on private property, protected and significant tree thresholds, replacement planting standards, and the penalties for unpermitted removal.
Weed Ordinances
Requirements to keep weeds and grass below a set height, the numeric limits (commonly 8 to 12 inches), abatement notices, and the liens cities can place after mowing it themselves.
Water Restrictions
Watering schedules, drought restrictions, and limits on outdoor irrigation including which days and times you can water your lawn.
Rainwater Harvesting
Whether you can collect rainwater, how much you can store, and any permits or tank size restrictions for residential rain barrels and cisterns.
Native Plants
Incentives or requirements for using native and drought-tolerant plants in your landscaping, and rules about replacing traditional lawns.
Artificial Turf
Rules about installing synthetic grass, including whether it counts toward water-saving rebates and any HOA or city restrictions.