Blaine, MN Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Article II of Chapter 34 regulates composting as part of the environment code. Section 34-28 permits only yard waste, small shrub trimmings or twigs up to one-quarter inch in diameter, straw, fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and egg shells generated on-site, plus commercially available composting ingredients; meat, bones, fat, oils, whole eggs, dairy products, unshredded branches or logs, plastics, synthetic fibers, human or pet waste, and diseased plants are all barred from the pile. The compost itself must be contained in a bin built of wood, wire mesh, a wood-and-wire combination, or a commercially fabricated compost container, capped at 100 cubic feet for lots smaller than 10,000 square feet or 150 cubic feet for larger lots, with a five-foot height ceiling regardless of lot size.

The bin must sit at least five feet from the property line and stay entirely within the rear yard, and the operator must water and turn the pile enough that it never becomes a nuisance to neighbors. Section 34-27 separately declares that compost material stored or processed in violation of the article is itself a public nuisance, removable under the city's general nuisance and state-law abatement procedures, not just under the composting article's own penalty.