Kings County, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Composting and organic waste in unincorporated Kings County are governed by Chapter 13 (Solid Waste Collection and Disposal), adopted to implement California's SB 1383 organic-waste-reduction mandate (Ordinance No. 705). Sec. 13-12 requires single-family organic-waste generators to subscribe to a three-container collection service, placing source-separated green waste (including food scraps) in the green container, recyclables in the blue container, and remaining trash in the gray container; Sec. 13-13 sets parallel rules for commercial businesses. Importantly, Sec. 13-11(b) preserves home composting: its prohibition on dumping waste outside approved containers applies 'except for the purpose of green waste composting,' so residents may compost their own yard and food waste on site. Households that meet the self-hauler rules in Sec. 13-57 (source-separating and delivering organics to an approved recovery facility themselves) and parcels covered by CalRecycle low-population waivers are exempt from mandatory subscription. The County charges an SB 1383 administrative fee collected through hauler bills (Sec. 13-3). Larger commercial edible-food generators must also arrange edible-food recovery under Article VI (Sec. 13-58). The County's own landscaping projects must use compost and mulch where practicable (Sec. 13-15).