Prince George's County, MD Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Division 7 of Subtitle 13, Property Standards and Maintenance, governs commercial, industrial, and non-residential-use property in Prince George's County. Its definitions section, Sec. 13-231(7), defines "Rubbish" as combustible waste, including paper, cardboard, wood, cloth, bedding material, and lawn and yard clippings not located in an established compost pile, plus dead trees and hazardous limbs, together with noncombustible waste such as metals, glass, and abandoned vehicles. Because the definition explicitly carves out clippings kept in an established compost pile, Sec. 13-234's requirement that garbage, vegetable waste, or other putrescible materials or rubbish go into approved, covered containers does not reach compost that stays contained in a working pile.

The same compost carve-out reappears almost word for word in the separate Antilitter and Weed Ordinance definitions at Sec. 13-261(f), which governs litter generally across the County. Sec. 13-232 makes every property owner responsible for complying with the Division, and Sec. 13-233 requires all improved and unimproved property to stay clean, safe, and sanitary so as not to create a public nuisance; grass clippings piled loosely rather than kept in a defined compost structure can be cited as an unsanitary condition or a public nuisance under Sec. 13-231(6)(F). The code sets no bin dimensions, materials, or setback distance for a residential compost pile, so any contained, maintained pile satisfies the exemption.