Haverford, PA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Article IV, On-Lot Compost Piles, was adopted 10-13-1992 as Ordinance No. 2156 and rewritten on 12-12-2022 by Ord. No. 2958-2022. Section 138-24 limits composting to personal, noncommercial purposes. Materials must originate on the same property as the pile, bin or container, and the finished compost can be used only on that same property.

What goes in depends on the setup. A compost pile takes only chopped or whole leaves and grass clippings. The pile can be all leaves but cannot be all grass clippings, and a mix with clippings must be three parts chopped leaves to one part grass clippings or six parts whole leaves to one part clippings, unless a commercial accelerator compensates for an imbalance. Food products of any type are not permitted in a pile. A compost bin or container follows a mix ratio of two or three parts browns to one part greens by volume, plus a microorganism source. Human feces, animal manure, cat or dog feces, and diseased or chemically treated plant matter, wood or paper cannot be composted in any composter. The code's table allows persistent weeds, meat, dairy products and fish bones only in enclosed bins that reach 145°.

Section 138-25 sets the location: side or rear yard, at least five feet from any property line and 20 feet from any habitable building off the subject property, and not visible from any public right-of-way. Piles belong in a level, shady area, out of direct sunlight, that will not develop puddles. Section 138-26 caps a pile at five feet in width, 10 feet in length and five feet in height, and lists three feet by three feet by three feet as the ideal bin size. Bins must be built of permanent materials such as wood, brick, block, plastic and wire, or a wooden or steel barrel or drum, and sealed on all sides with aeration openings of 1/2 inch or less so animals and rodents cannot enter.

Section 138-27 requires piles to be kept free of offensive odors, neat and orderly, and bars storing material to be composted in any garbage or leaf bag. The Director of Code Enforcement or another authorized Township official must order a pile or bin removed if there is evidence of rodents or vermin on the property.