Appleton, WI Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Sec. 12-37(a) states the purpose is to promote recycling of yard waste and food scraps through composting and to set minimum standards for compost maintenance. Parcels zoned Agriculture, Special Use urban farms, and City-owned parcels used for municipal composting are exempt under (b). Definitions in (c) set exact dimensions: a compost barrel is 55 gallons or larger with 6 to 9 rows of half-inch ventilation holes; a bin is enclosed rot-resistant construction 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide; a pit is 2 to 4 feet deep, covered with 1 to 3 inches of soil; a trench is at least 18 inches deep with the same soil cover.

Maintenance rules in (d) require yard waste turned every 1 to 2 weeks and food scraps turned every 2 to 3 weeks, with any rodent sighting reported to the Health Department for action under Secs. 7-67 and 7-68, and any odor abated immediately. Location rules in (e) confine composting to the rear yard, at least 3 feet from side and rear property lines, unless a side-yard structure is screened from the street and neighboring ground level by plantings or fencing at least a foot taller than the pile.

Sec. 12-37(f) bans lakeweeds, cooked food scraps other than coffee grounds and tea leaves, fish, meat, other animal products and dairy from any compost structure, while permitting yard waste, food scraps and commercial compost additives. Sec. 12-37(g) limits compost material to private use on the same parcel and bars any sale of finished compost.