Lubbock, TX Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

The city's composting standard lives inside the accessory-use rules for a residential Community Garden, not as a stand-alone backyard-bin ordinance. 020(c)(4) requires the entire garden to sit within the rear yard and outside any required setback (Subsection B), to be screened by an opaque fence (Subsection C), and then, under Subsection D, allows composting only inside a composting container whose materials are generated on-site or contributed by garden members. The container itself must clear a minimum 20-foot side and rear setback and a 40-foot front setback.

020(d)(3)(D) requires composting containers there to be set back a minimum of 40 feet from side and rear lines and 80 feet from the front line. 018(b)(2)(I), governs a community garden operated as its own limited use (rather than as an accessory to an existing house, school, or assembly hall) and carries the same 20-foot/40-foot residential distances, but that use also requires registration with the Director of Planning covering hours of operation, a garden coordinator's contact information, and a site plan. Any dumpster, trash, or recycling receptacle tied to the garden must likewise stay outside the property's building setbacks. There is no separate citywide ordinance addressing an ordinary household compost pile kept apart from a registered community garden.