Burlington, WI Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Section 265-14, most recently amended by Ordinance No. 2129(6) on October 21, 2025, groups lead acid batteries, major appliances, waste oil and yard waste into one management scheme. For yard waste specifically, Subsection A(4) requires the material to be separated for composting, either privately on the resident's own property or through the City of Burlington's compost program, rather than disposed of with regular trash. That composting duty connects directly to § 265-4, which designates City compost sites where anyone may drop yard waste free of charge while the site is open, under rules the Public Works Director writes and the Common Council approves.

Property owners who are not served by regular City garbage collection are not left out: § 265-4D(2) lets them drop off yard waste at the compost site for a fee during scheduled hours of operation, with the fee amount set from time to time by Common Council resolution rather than fixed permanently in the ordinance text. The composting duty sits alongside, but is legally distinct from, the separate recycling-separation list in § 265-11, which also names yard waste as a material to keep out of the postconsumer waste stream; § 265-14 is the operative section spelling out that composting, not curbside recycling bins, is how that separation happens for yard waste specifically.