Blue Springs, MO Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Section 515.590 of the Blue Springs Property Maintenance Code regulates every private compost pile in the city under three subsections. The maintenance rules in Subsection A require every pile to sit inside a freestanding compost bin capped at 150 cubic feet for lots of 10,000 square feet or less, with another 150 cubic feet allowed for each additional 10,000 square feet of lot size, and no bin may stand taller than five feet. Piles must be kept from harboring rodents and pests, with a rodent sighting itself grounds for the City to issue a complaint, and from producing rotten-egg, putrefactive, sweet, sour or pungent odors.

Placement is restricted too: without the adjoining owner's written permission, no pile may sit closer than three feet to the rear or side property line or within twenty feet of a neighboring home, patio, pool or similar structure, and every pile must stay at least three feet behind the front building setback line and clear of natural stormwater drainage paths. Subsection B controls what can go in the bin. Lakeweeds, food scraps, fish, fowl, meat, other animal products, manure, animal carcasses and other items not normally composted are all prohibited, while yard waste, commercial compost additives and wood chips are the ingredients the ordinance allows. Subsection C limits every pile to private use only, banning any commercial sale of the finished compost.