Corvallis, OR Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Corvallis Municipal Code Section 4.02.040, part of the Rat Eradication chapter, generally requires garbage or refuse that rats could feed on to be stored in covered containers approved by the City Manager, and separately makes it unlawful to dump dead animals or waste vegetable or animal matter on any premises, land, or waterway. Within that same section, the City carves out an exception: waste vegetable matter collected on private property for the purpose of residential composting is exempt from this prohibition, so a backyard compost pile of yard scraps and vegetable matter does not violate the dumping ban that would otherwise apply.

The Livability Code in Chapter 9.02 gives that exemption real teeth by defining Maintained Compost as a small portion of a property set aside to methodically encourage rapid decomposition of yard debris and vegetable matter into fertilizer or soil amendment, showing signs of active management such as regular turning, mixed debris types, chopped woody material, and internal heat; a pile that just stores or dumps yard debris without any expectation of rapid decomposition does not qualify. Under Section 9.02.090.06.020.07, the exterior sanitation nuisance rules that require removing accumulations of dead organic matter and yard debris expressly exclude small accumulations in a maintained compost area, so long as that compost does not itself become a nuisance, such as by attracting rats.

A pile that fails the Maintained Compost definition, or that creates rat harborage, loses the exemption and can be cited as a nuisance or under the rat eradication penalty in Section 4.02.070, which carries a fine of up to $500, up to 90 days in jail, or both, with each day treated as a separate offense.