Home composting is permitted in Lehigh County; Pennsylvania's Act 101 encourages diverting yard waste. There is no county composting permit. Keep piles maintained so they don't become a nuisance, and never dump yard or food waste on others' land.
Pennsylvania's Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act (Act 101) promotes composting and leaf/yard-waste diversion, and Lehigh County's solid-waste plan supports it. Backyard composting for household use generally needs no permit. The limits are practical: a compost pile that attracts vermin, generates odor, or spills into public view can be cited under a municipal property-maintenance code as a nuisance, and Allentown enforces such standards. Do not deposit yard debris, grass, or food scraps onto another person's property, a vacant lot, or a waterway, which is illegal dumping under 18 Pa.C.S. §6501. Many municipalities also run seasonal leaf and yard-waste collection as an alternative.
Nuisance compost piles draw municipal property-maintenance citations. Dumping waste on others' land or waterways is scattering rubbish under 18 Pa.C.S. §6501, a summary-to-misdemeanor offense.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Allentown, PA
Article 710.03(C)(12) requires every motor vehicle to have a working muffler with no cutout or bypass, bars idling longer than 15 minutes per hour within 150...
Allentown, PA
No Allentown ordinance directly regulates in-flight aircraft noise; federal law (49 U.S.C. section 40103 and City of Burbank v. Lockheed) preempts local cont...
Allentown, PA
Allentown prohibits storing abandoned, inoperable, or unregistered vehicles on public streets or visible on private property. Vehicles may be tagged and towe...
Allentown, PA
Allentown regulates electric vehicle charging infrastructure for residential and commercial properties. Building codes may require EV-ready parking in new co...
Allentown, PA
Allentown does not impose a blanket residential overnight on-street parking ban, but a vehicle parked in one place on a public street for more than 72 consec...
Allentown, PA
Allentown requires pool barriers meeting safety codes to prevent drowning. Fences must be at least 4 to 5 feet tall with self-closing, self-latching gates.
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Lehigh County.
See how Allentown's composting rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.