Effingham County, GA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Development Services and Environmental Health share oversight of backyard composting in unincorporated Effingham County under Chapter 66 of the county code. Sec. 66-38(b) permits any private property owner or occupant to compost on their own premises without a county permit, so long as three conditions hold: the pile cannot create a health hazard to neighbors, it cannot be unsightly, and it cannot emit foul or obnoxious odors. That right is echoed elsewhere in the code. Sec. 66-33(a)(3) carves composting of yard trash and putrescible waste out of the general ban on dumping waste onto public or private property, so long as it does not run afoul of Sec.

66-38(b)'s conditions. Sec. 66-35 goes further for yard trash specifically, directing that it be sorted and stockpiled or chipped, composted, used as mulch or otherwise beneficially reused or recycled to the maximum extent feasible, rather than hauled to a county disposal site. On the residential-service side of the code, Sec. 66-106(d) expressly exempts composting by residential service unit owners, as allowed by local, state, and federal law, from Article III's collection requirements, meaning composting at home is not something a hauler contract can override. There is no size cap, bin specification, or setback written into the ordinance itself; the standard is entirely about effect, not method.

A pile that draws rodents, stinks, or becomes a visible eyesore loses its Sec. 66-38(b) protection and exposes the owner to enforcement as a Chapter 66 violation.