Greenville, NC Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)
Key Facts
- Backyard composting
- Exempted from the garbage-nuisance ban
- Governing standard
- Must be 'properly maintained'
- Also exempted
- Animal manure stored as fertilizer
- No separate bin/size rule
- None set in Chapter 3
- Loses exemption if
- Becomes pest harborage or open garbage
Summary
Greenville's nuisance code bans open collections of garbage, food waste and animal waste, but City Code Section 12-3-4(H) expressly shields a 'properly maintained compost pile' and stored animal manure used as fertilizer from that nuisance finding, so backyard composting for lawns and gardens is allowed without a special permit.
(H) An open place of collection of garbage, food waste, animal waste, yard waste or any other rotten or putrescible matter of any kind; however, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the generally accepted use of a properly maintained compost pile or storage of animal manure being used as fertilizer for lawns and gardens and for other agricultural or horticultural purposes;
Full Breakdown
' The code does not set a separate bin, setback or size standard for compost piles in Chapter 3, so the operative test is whether the pile is 'properly maintained,' the same qualifier the section uses for the manure-storage exemption. A compost pile that stops being properly maintained and instead becomes an open collection of rotting matter, or that crosses into other enumerated nuisances such as harboring rodents or insects under Section 12-3-4(A) or producing offensive odors that meet the 'garbage' definition in Section 12-3-1, loses the exemption and can be cited like any other nuisance.
Code Enforcement, per Section 12-3-3, is the division that would investigate a complaint about a compost pile, and any notice to abate would follow the same Section 12-3-6 process as other Chapter 3 nuisances, including the owner's right to request a hearing under Section 12-3-10.
Violations & Fines
A compost pile that is not properly maintained and is instead cited as an open collection of garbage or a pest harborage under Section 12-3-4 exposes the owner to the same civil penalty schedule as other nuisance violations: $100 for a first violation, $250 for a second within 365 days, and $500 for each subsequent violation in that period, under Section 12-3-11(A), with continuing noncompliance treated as a separate daily violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to keep a compost pile in my Greenville backyard?
Does Greenville require a permit for backyard composting?
Can my compost pile still get cited as a nuisance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Greenville
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