Allen County allows backyard composting, but the health code requires compost piles to be maintained so they do not create odors or harbor flies, rodents, or other public-health pests. A neglected, smelly, or vermin-infested pile can be ordered abated.
Composting on private property is permitted in unincorporated Allen County. The controlling rule is Allen County Code 10-12-2-9 (Public Health Hazards), which requires compost piles to be properly maintained so as not to present or allow an offensive odor or the breeding or harborage of flies, insects, rodents, or any other public-health hazard. Related provisions require refuse, organic matter, and vegetable materials that could feed pests to be stored in covered rodent-proof containers. The Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health enforces these standards on complaint. Yard-waste diversion is otherwise handled by the Allen County Solid Waste Management District's drop-off and curbside programs rather than a mandatory composting rule.
A compost pile that produces odors or harbors vermin can be cited under 10-12-2-9. After a written abatement order, willful non-compliance draws up to $500 per day (10-12-4-3), and certain sanitation violations may carry an immediate $25-per-day fine plus abatement
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